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COEXRIGHT DEPOSm 



RADNOR REMINISCENCES 



RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 

BY 

J. STANLEY REEVE 

AUTHOR OF " RHUBARB, THE DIARY OF A GENTLEMAN's HUNTER " 

WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY 

BENJAMIN CHEW 

M.F.H. RADNOR, 1915-1917 

ILLUSTRATED WITH PHOTOGRAPHS 
AND SILHOUETTES BY THE AUTHOR 




BOSTON AND NEW YORK 

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY 

1921 






COPYRIGHT, I921, BY J. STANLEY REEVE 
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 



j.^i? 



JAN 17 '22 






PREFACE 

An Arab proverb says, "True happiness is only to be 
found in two places — on the back of a horse and in the 
arms of the woman you love." 

Whether this happiness is divided fifty-fifty between 
the horse and the woman is rather a dehcate matter; so to 
save the feelings of the ladies, maybe we had better not 
discuss it; but on one thing we will all agree, including the 
ladies, and that is, that a great deal of happiness has been 
derived from the back of a horse. 

Foxhunting and hunting-journalism are two quite dif- 
ferent sports. The uninitiated are too prone to picture 
hunting as largely composed of elbows and legs, broken 
bones, scratched noses, and love affairs. That all of these 
do exist in the hunting-field, I will admit; but think for a 
moment of the other benefits to be derived. They are so 
numerous, it would be folly for me to undertake to write 
them down. • 

Just as long as men and fair women have red blood in 
their veins and sporting spirits, hunting will continue; but 
hunting-journalism may disappear any minute, princi- 
pally owing to the assassination of the poor journalists. 

They say it is always a mistake to apologize for one's 
efforts, but I must; and I offer them to the editors of The 
Tatler and The Sporting and Dramatic News of London, for 
the many sayings of their gifted correspondents that I 
have appropriated. To my other friends — well, maybe 
they won't be friends after they read these humble efforts; 
but I do offer my most sincere thanks to Miss Dorothy 
Mather and Mr. Benjamin Chew for their kind assistance. 

J. S. R. 



CONTENTS 



SEASON OF 1912-1913 



Cubbing 
Opening Meet 
21ST November, 1912 
Annual Meeting 
5TH December, 1912 
17TH December, 1912 

3RD February, 1913 
4TH February, 191 3 
I2TH February, 1913 
20TH February, 191 3 
25TH February, 1913 
1ST March, 191 3 



Joint Meet with Mr. Kirk's 

Hounds 
C. R. Snowden, Esq. 

A cold Lincoln's Birthday 
Newtown Square 

An hour and fifty minutes from 
Waynesboro 



The Last of the Season 



3 
3 
4 
7 
7 

8 

9 

9 

10 

12 

13 

14 
15 



SEASON OF 1913-1914 



Cubbing 

Happy Creek Farms 
20TH December, 1913 
23RD December, 1913 

30TH December, 1913 
17TH January, 1914 
23RD January, 1914 

27TH January, 1914 
3RD February, 1914 

3 1ST March, 1914 



Mr. Kirk's Breakfast 

Sixty-five minutes from Hershey's 

Mill 
At Newtown Square 
A day with the Brandywine 
With Serrill's Hounds in the Rose 

Tree Country 

From Crum Creek Farm to West 

Chester 
A good vixen saved for another 

day 



19 

20 

22 

24 
26 
27 

29 
30 

31 

32 



Vlll 



CONTENTS 



SEASON OF 1914-191S 
Cubbing 

The First Bryn Mawr Hound Show 
i8th November, 1914 A run with the Rose Tree 
Out of quarantine 
A trapped fox "at Crum Creek 

Farm 
Fatal accident to Mr. Grange 
The Bobbery Pack 
One of the best 



5TH January, 191 5 
14TH January, 191 5 



i6th January, 1915 
22ND February, 1915 
23RD March, 1915 



39 
40 
42 
43 

44 
45 
46 
48 



SEASON OF 1915-1916 



Cubbing 

4TH December, 1915 
I2TH December, 19x5 
8th January, 1916 
5TH February, 1916 
I2TH February, 191 6 

I 8th March, 191 6 
23 rd March, 191 6 
26th March, 1916 

22ND April, 1916 



Mr. Kirk's Annual Breakfast 
Mr. Buckley of Erdenheim 
An hour and twenty minutes 
All the world loves a lover 
Brandywine and Pickering at 

Marshallton 
A cold day from Sugartown 
To earth in Mr. Brown's drain 
The last of the Season from White 

Horse 
The Happy Creek Race 



53 
54 
55 
59 
61 

62 
64 

65 

66 
68 



SEASON OF 1916-1917 



Cubbing 

21 ST October, 1916 
30TH September, 1916 
24TH October, 191 6 
iith November, 1916 
20TH November, 191 6 
22ND November, 1916 
23RD November, 1916 
24TH November, 1916 
26th December, 1916 
4TH January, 191 7 



71 

A kill in the open 73 

Cafe au Concourse Hippique 75 

Alexander Brown, Esq. 76 

Louis S. Fiske, Esq. 'j^i 

The Middlesex at White Horse 76 

The Middlesex at Bromall 78 

Don't jump that gate! 79 

A luncheon to Mr. Higginson 80 

Two hours in the hills 82 
Four and a quarter miles in 

twenty-seven minutes 84 



CONTENTS 



IX 



9TH January, 191 7 
lOTH January, 191 7 
iiTH January, 191 7 
20TH January, 191 7 
1ST February, 1917 
22ND February, 1917 
24TH February, 1917 
3 1 ST March, 191 7 
7TH April, 1917 
14TH April, 1917 
21ST April, 1917 
I2TH May, 1917 



Good scent everywhere 

Radnor Hunt Ball 

The day after 

The love feast 

The Saportas' fire 

The Master's Breakfast 

The M.F.H. Association Dinner 

The Border Plate 

The Horston Cup 

The Second Race at Happy Creek 

White Marsh Puppy Show 

Cheshire Puppy Show 



84 

87 
90 

91 
94 
94 

96 

97 
97 
98 
98 
100 



SEASON OF 1917-1918 
The Economies of War Time 
Julian C. Biddle, Esq. 
3RD September, 1917 Cubbing 
1ST November, 1917 
lOTH November, 191 7 
24TH November, 1917 
25TH November, 1917 
29TH November, 1917 
6th February, 191 8 
14TH February, 1918 
2ND March, 1918 



9TH March, 191 8 
i8th March, 1918 
3RD April, 1918 
27TH April, 191 8 



A War Season Opening Meet 

No scent 

Fifty minutes with the Cheshire 

Mr. Clothier's loss 

Thanksgiving Day 

Frozen up 

Mr. Pig 

Two hours and thirty-five minutes 

A run with the Chester Valley 

The Boot Hunt and a lemon pie 

Huntingdon Valley Race Meeting 

The Maryland Hunt Cup 



107 
108 
III 
112 
112 
114 
H4 
117 
118 
120 
121 
122 
125 
125 



SEASON OF 1918-1919 

The Remount Train 



129 



SEASON OF 1919-1920 
1ST September, 1919 Home again 
i8th October, 1919 Old Square 
20TH October, 1919 A disappearing fox 



133 
135 
136 



CONTENTS 



25TH October, 1919 
5TH November, 1919 
15TH November, 1919 
22ND November, 1919 



27TH November, 1919 

29TH November, 1919 
2ND December, 1919 
13TH December, 1919 
27TH December, 1919 
lOTH January, 1920 
13TH January, 1920 

14TH February, 1920 
i8th March, 1920 
20TH March, 1920 
23RD March, 1920 

27TH March, 1920 
22ND April, 1920 
24TH April, 1920 



Rose Tree Race Meet 137 

A bye-day 139 

A meet at Goshen School 139 
An hour and thirty-five minutes 

from Hershey's Mill 141 

The Fox and Hound Club 143 
Radnor Valley Farm Challenge 

Cup 144 

After the ball 146 

A Waynesboro fox 148 

Mr. Kirk's 149 

Comedy and tragedy 152 

The field gets left 153 
A southerly wind and a cloudy 

sky _ 15s 

An hour and a quarter in the mud 156 

A seven mile point 158 

Brookthorpe to Mr. Brown's 158 
A gallop from Bartholomew's 

Wood 160 

An eight and a half mile point 161 

Sunnybrook Farm 163 

Maryland Hunt Cup 164 



SEASON OF 1920-1921 



Cubbing 

9TH October, 1920 
21ST October, 1920 
23 RD October, 1920 
30TH October, 1920 
6th November, 1920 
IITH November, 1920 
15TH, I 8th, 19TH No- 
vember, 1920 
24TH November, 1920 
25TH November, 1920 
27TH November, 1920 
i8th December, 1920 



Man O'War 

Foxhall Farm Cup 

Opening Day 

Snakehouse Wood to Castle Rock 

Two days with the Cheshire and 

one with the Brandywine 
A bye-day 
Thanksgiving Day 
A Meet at Kelso 
South of the Pike 



169 
170 
171 
172 
177 
179 
180 

182 
184 
18s 
187 
189 



CONTENTS 



XI 



28th December, 1920 
30TH December, 1920 
4TH January, 1921 
29TH January, 1921 
3RD February, 1921 
Nimrod 



"Seven-to-One" 
A Rose Tree Hunt supper 
The death of "Lucy Glitters" 
Delchester to Temple Hill 
Radnor and Rose Tree 



191 

193 
195 
197 
199 
202 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

Will Leverton and the Radnor Hounds Frontispiece 

Will Leverton and Frank Smith 4 

Radnor Hounds — The Winning Half-Bred 
Pack at the Bryn Mawr Hound Show, 191 5 20 

Mrs. John R. Valentine on "Failian" 32 

A. Henry Higginson, Esq., with his Winning 
Pack of Five Couples of English Hounds 40 

Horace B. Hare, Esq., M.F.H. 48 

Benjamin Chew, Esq., M.F.H. , on "Oviat" and 
J. Stanley Reeve, Esq., on "Poacher" 54 

Mrs. Howard H. Henry and Mrs. A. J. A. 

Devereux ^8 

Radnor Hounds at the Bryn Mawr Hound 

Show, 1916 -76 

Radnor Hounds at White Horse 82 

Edward C. Dale, Esq. 106 



114 



The Six Greys 

Mrs. Paul Denckla Mills on "Grey Cloud," Mrs. Charles 
A. Munn on "Peter Grey," Mrs. A. J. Antelo Devereux 
on "Happy Boots," Harry Ramsey, First Whip, on "Dave 
Waller," W. Plunket Stewart, Esq., M.F.H., on " Water 
Wagon," and Harry Brown, Huntsman, on "Greymaster" 

Mrs. Edward H. Carle, on "Germond" 118 



xiv ILLUSTRATIONS 

Mrs. Walter M. Jeffords receiving the Plate 

OFFERED BY THE MaSTERS OF FoXHOUNDS ASSO- 
CIATION FOR Best Five Couples of American 
Hounds 138 

Radnor Hunt — Thanksgiving Day, 1919 144 

Patrol Judges: Messrs. J. Stanley Reeve, Walter Stokes, 
Charles A. Munn, W. Plunket Stewart, Francis V. Lloyd, 
Rowland Comly, Gardner Cassatt, Robert E. Straw- 
bridge, Jr. 

Miss Eugenia Kelso Cassatt and Henry C. 

Barclay, Esq. 160 

R. Clifton Lisle, Esq.; Miss Gertrude S. 

Hecksher; Robert E. Brooks, Esq. 172 

Cheshire Foxhounds — W. P. Stewart, Esq., 
M.F.H. 182, 

Miss Gertrude S. Hecksher on "Saturnus" 192 

Miss Ellen Mary Cassatt on "Seven-to-One" 192 



INTRODUCTION 
By Benjamin Chew 

M.F.H. RADNOR, I9I5-I917 

It takes the perspective of time to write history. It takes 
still more time and the increasing perspective for us to 
read history; especially to read it with a seeing and un- 
biased mind and to appreciate the values which only the 
perspective of time can bring before our mental vision. 

It may seem that to class the following record as history 
is to bring it into too great importance. Nevertheless, it is 
a part of the history of our country and of our civilization. 
It records a phase of life which has much to do with the 
racial consciousness of our people. Would that its influ- 
ence had been greater and more widespread in this great 
land of ours! 

Sport is one of the links of heredity which has come to us 
from our British forbears; sport being the lighter visible 
sign of our finer inherited qualities: energy, fair play, 
manhood in the best sense; justice, honesty, and observa- 
tion; love of the land and of the great outdoors; all are ex- 
pressed in and developed by sport. More especially by 
foxhunting; let us not say the "Sport of Kings," but the 
King of Sports. 

Foxhunting has flourished in this country of ours for 
two hundred years; not fostered by the rich, but main- 
tained and loved by the plain men of the land, the men 
who, when times of strife stirred the land, were the first to 
answer the call of the land and leave their homes and fami- 
lies and give themselves, their hopes and joys and goods, 
to the service of their country; and can we but feel sure 



xvi INTRODUCTION 

that they were better fitted, mentally, morally and physi- 
cally, by their days with the hounds, their long days in the 
open, where clean living, courage, endurance, patience, 
and understanding are needed in the making of a good 
foxhunter? 

If we look back in the pages of our local history, we find 
that the members of the Gloucester Foxhunting Club, 
most of whom were members of the Old State in Schuyl- 
kill, the oldest club in the world with a continuous exist- 
ence, formed, in the early days of the Revolution, the now 
famous First Troop, Philadelphia City Cavalry, which has 
distinguished itself in every war in which this country has 
ever engaged. 

A great majority of its members have been good fox- 
hunters, and the lessons of the hunting-field have been 
useful without doubt in camp and field of battle. 

Therefore, I feel sure that the following simple record of 
a few years of the sport of a representative American 
Hunt, cannot be amiss, and that in the long annals of our 
glorious country this little side-light into our "manners 
and customs," as Caesar would say, will be not only appre- 
ciated by those whose names figure in its pages and who 
will read with personal pleasure; but will in years to come 
bring pleasure to another generation and shed a light for 
them upon a not unimportant phase of our lives. 

The increase of the motor in all branches of transporta- 
tion, and even in the realms of agriculture, seems to indi- 
cate the gradual elimination of the horse, and it may well 
be — indeed is not improbable — that in another genera- 
tion or so the breeding of horses, especially in this part of 
the country, to a great extent, if not entirely, will be 
abandoned, and that foxes and foxhunting will be come a 
thing of the past. It is in those days that this record will 



INTRODUCTION xvii 

be read and valued and will give to those generations to 
come some idea of the joyous days so much appreciated by 
their forbears. 

Suffice it to say that a man or woman who has hunted 
the fox honestly and courageously has never but benefited 
from his or her experience. 

The many occasions on which he or she has conquered 
self, be it in early rising when laziness is overcome, be it in 
overcoming fear when the rasper is faced with pluck de- 
spite good excuses for taking the gap, or be it in the ex- 
ertion of self-control and expression of courtesy, which 
should always be the rule in the hunting-field — these 
many opportunities of self-mastery, are they to be de- 
spised in the building-up of the character of our race? 
Surely, no! And, therefore, I feel sure that this hunting 
record cannot but be of a certain value in its modest way, 
as part of the history of our times. 

The honesty and simplicity with which it has been writ- 
ten is not the least of its charms and is one of its greatest 
values for the future, as no one can fail to recognize the 
sincerity of the writer. 



RADNOR REMINISCENCES 
SEASON OF 1912-1913 



RADNOR REMINISCENCES 



SEASON OF 1912-1913 
Cub-hunting in 191 2 did not commence until the 2d of 
October, when for a fortnight hounds showed very good 
sport; foxes being plentiful and scent very good; although 
the country was quite blind until the middle of the month, 
when we had a protracted dry spell and hounds had great 
difficulty in carrying a line for any length of time; but, 
fortunately, it rained just before the opening of the regu- 
lar season and scenting conditions improved wonderfully. 

Charles C. Harrison, Esq., gave his annual breakfast 
before the opening meet at Happy Creek Farms, and a 
large and representative field turned out, with Horace 
Binney Hare, M.F.H., and Will Davis hunting a mixed 
pack of seventeen and a half couples. 

The first draw was Mr. Harrison's meadows, where a 
fox went away at once, giving the field a nice gallop to- 
wards Wyola, then swinging back again, hounds marking 
their fox to earth in Mr. John Brown's drain, after fifteen 
minutes of very pretty work. 

After several vain attempts to bolt the fox, Harry Harri- 
son sent home for his dachshund, but the excitement was 
too much for Mr. Dachshund, for he refused to go to 
ground, so the earth was stopped and we moved on. Later 
in the day the two Hunt terriers were brought up and 
bolted not only the fox, but a very fat groundhog as well. 

A second fox was found in Yarnall's Hollow, he proving 
to be more straight-necked than our first, and giving us a 



4 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

run of eighty-five minutes all through the lower country; 
hounds finally losing him back of Bromall, near the Marple 
Road. 

Among those hunting were: Harry W. Harrison; W. 
Plunket Stewart; Charlie and Mrs. Snowden; Harry Bar- 
clay; Miss Kitty Smith; Rowland Comly; John and Mrs. 
Converse; Mrs. Valentine; Devy and Mrs. Devereux; R. 
Nelson Buckley; Benjamin Chew; Edwin L. Blabon; Mr. 
Fiske; Miss Emily Barclay; Ben Holland; and Bayard 
Rives, of New York, who had just bought Mr. Wain's 
mare "Lady Hannah" for ^500, and thought her so satis- 
factory that he went to Mr. Wain and wanted him to 
accept a few hundred more for her! 

Saturday, 21st November, 19 12 
As we arrived at Penn Tavern this morning for the meet 
at ten o'clock, a farmer in the bar-room said the Rose Tree 
hounds were coming up country towards Green Briar, and, 
as Green Briar was to be our first draw, we met Rose Tree 
just east of the covert, chatted a moment with Sam Pink- 
erton, the huntsman, and then the two packs joined 
forces. 

Hounds were no sooner in covert than a fox was viewed 
out the far side, pointing up-country over the same line 
that we had on Tuesday, and, with the two packs running 
as one, the proverbial blanket would have covered the 
thirty-four couples as they flew on towards the Westtown 
School, making a complete circle of the school buildings, 
leaving it left-handed and going south to Locksley sta- 
tion, with our field of seventy-five rapidly thinning out, 
and Chris Hagan's new purchase, "War Whoop," already 
having given him two tosses. 

A freight train was seen coming directly across the line 




WILL LEVERTON AND FRANK SMITH 

First and Second IVhippers-in under Horace B. Hare, Esq., M.F. H. 

and Huntsman, 1912-1913 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 5 

of hounds, and, by a great effort, Will Leverton and Frank 
Smith, the whips, succeeded in stopping hounds just at the 
edge of the tracks as the train came by. Then a forward 
cast by Horace Hare and hounds went off again with a 
roar, swinging left-handed beyond the station and taking 
us at a burning clip to the House of Refuge, where hounds 
made two circles of the wood before heading down-coun- 
try. Ben Chew here had a very bad fall, his horse turning 
over at a fence and landing on top of him, pushing him 
down into the soft mud. When the horse finally rolled off 
and Ben was able to move, there was quite a dent in the 
ground where they had fallen. Ben was unable to go on, 
and, while he was leaning on the only jumpable part of the 
fence, trying to get his wind, the rest of us had to jump a 
picket fence into some one's farmyard, a rather nasty 
place. Mrs. Fred Sturges's horse refused it, and she never 
caught up with hounds again. 

Chris Hagan had another fall jumping into a lane near 
here, landing head-first in a patch of briars, and we left 
him sitting on a rock picking thorns out of his face; but he 
caught up with hounds again later on, and had the rare 
honor to-day of having five falls from his new purchase. 

John Converse came to grief a couple of fields beyond, 
and then Eddie Dale performed for us very nicely at a 
stiff three-rail fence out of a cornfield. 

Every one was getting his turn and the pace was begin- 
ning to tell, when hounds checked at a fork in the road, 
and it was decided to separate the two packs and go home. 
Just as we were moving off and had said good-bye to Rose 
Tree, a Radnor dog hound spoke; both packs harked to 
him and we were off again — those that were left of us — 
at a pretty fast pace towards Green Briar and over a very 
nice line of grass. 



6 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

Dr. Jim Hutchinson came to grief for the second time 
just before we reached Green Briar, as did Frank Smith, 
the whipper-in. 

Hounds were pressing their fox so hard that he appar- 
ently missed connections with his home earth, as he went 
straight through the covert, crossing the West Chester 
Pike and circling the farm opposite the Street Road, then, 
doubling back to covert, he went out the north side again, 
hounds setting such a pace that our blown horses had all 
they could do to keep on any sort of terms with them; and 
the fox continually in view in front of hounds. 

After going through the Dutton's Mill Wood, my faith- 
ful conveyance "Castlereagh" put me down in a very 
muddy field; but, fortunately for me, hounds checked a 
moment later, and I caught up. It was faster than ever 
from now on to Rocky Hill, where hounds rolled their fox 
over in the open, after four hours of really remarkable 
work. 

There were sixteen in at the death, out of a field of 
seventy-five. Mrs. Devereux was given the brush, and 
Murray Forbes, of Boston, who was riding one of Dr. 
Hutchinson's horses, was given a pad, as was also Harry 
Barclay. 

Hounds ran their fox quite twenty-five miles before 
pulling him down, and, by the map, it is fifteen miles be- 
tween the various points. 

P.S. Some years later, after dining at the Barclays' 
town house, we were talking over the long runs of the past, 
and on harking back to this memorable day, Harry showed 
me a silver paper-knife with a fox's pad for a handle, and, 
on reading the engraved inscription, I found it was this 
same fox. 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL' 7 

Saturday, 2,0th November, 19 12 
If something unusual did n*t happen at the Annual Meet- 
ing of Radnor Hunt, most people would be disappointed. 

After quite a good day's sport, several foxhunters 
stayed on at the Club House until time for the Annual 
Meeting at six-thirty. Being a cold, raw day, it apparently 
was necessary to take liquid refreshment to warm the 
inner man, and the famous Radnor Yellow Port, which 
never fails, again had the desired effect. 

Just as the President had heard the Master's report 
and was rising to make some sort of remark, complimen- 
tary, of course, there was a tremendous and prolonged 
crash, and a very much befuddled foxhunter, accompanied 
by a table and suitcase, came rolling down the stairs and 
landed in the room at the President's feet. To say the 
President was pleased, is putting it mildly! What remarks 
he intended to make, no one ever knew, but the Secretary 
saved the day by calling for the Treasurer's report, while 
helping hands disposed of our pink-coated friend. 

Thursday, ^th December, 19 12 
After the early part of November, the country became 
dry again, scent being indifferent until to-day, when a 
stout fox went away in front of hounds from the north 
side of Cathcart's Rocks, making a big circle around the 
Leopard and back to the White Horse Farm, when hounds 
swung right-handed, and, keeping Mr. Boyer Davis's 
house on their right, marked their fox to ground at the 
foot of a dead chestnut tree just across the road from the 
Davis gateway. 

Curiosity^ they say, killed the cat, and it nearly had the 
same effect on Alfred Borden, of New York, who was here 
as the guest of Fred and Mrs. Sturges. After hounds had 



8 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

put their fox under, and, while there was a great tow-row- 
ing going on around the earth, Borden decided he wanted 
a closer view of the proceedings, and in jumping a barway 
from the road into the field, his horse turned upside down, 
giving him a nasty-looking fall, but, fortunately, he was 
none the worse for it, 

Tuesday, lyth December, 19 12 
A. Henry Higginson, M.F.H., Middlesex, is stopping 
with me, and, being very anxious that he should have a 
good day with hounds, I was more than satisfied, as we 
had two runs, both of which were top-hole. Mr. William 
M. Kerr very kindly mounted Alex., so he was on the 
right sort of cattle to go, which was fortunate. 

As we were moving off from White Horse at ten o'clock, 
Sam Kirk's hounds came up the road, so the two packs 
joined and found at the first draw; a fox going out of the 
meadow below Fairy Hill, and, turning up-country, 
crossed the Bryn Clovis Dairy Farm to Sugartown, where 
hounds turned left-handed and came down the vale very 
fast to Dutton's Mill, and on through to the West Chester 
Pike, where, at a moment's check, the field caught up; 
then, at a backward cast, they turned down-country, 
finally marking their fox to earth in Charlie Snowden's 
wood, after a very nice forty-five minutes. 

Our second fox was viewed away from the far side of 
Green Briar Thicket, with, unfortunately, only four and a 
half couples of hounds on the line, and with the greater 
part of the field left behind on the lower side of the covert. 
But what we lacked in numbers, we made up in quality; 
our fox, pointing his mask towards West Chester, bore 
slightly left-handed, and hounds, keeping the Westtown 
School on their right, raced up-country, over the school 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 9 

property, then, bearing north again, ran with a burning 
scent to the railroad Hne, about a mile above Moorestein 
Station, where hounds were at fault for about five minutes 
while we got off our horses and sat on a fence watching 
them working things out, which they soon did; and, 
carrying a good scent, ran back to the school again, 
around the farm buildings, then straight down-country 
over a beautiful line to Green Briar, where our fox evi- 
dently went under; but hounds did not mark him. 

We had all had quite enough of it by now, so called it a 
day. This last run had been three hours all told, and 
those of us in it were: Higginson; Will Leverton; Mrs. 
Charlie Snowdon; the Misses Beatrice and Gertrude 
deCoppet; Ned and Mrs. Blabon; Frank Lloyd; Mr. Kerr; 
Alex. Brown on "Pebbles"; and Sam Kirk. 

Monday, 3rd February, 19 13 
On Wednesday of last week, as Charlie Snowden and 
John Converse were motoring down the West Chester 
Pike, above Newtown Square, having been hunting with 
Rose Tree, Charlie, who was driving, had to turn out 
suddenly for a buggy that came out of a lane, and, in 
doing so, the car struck the rails of the trolley track, ran 
off the embankment, and turned over in a field, injuring 
Snowden so badly that he died yesterday in the Bryn Mawr 
Hospital. 

An all-around sportsman of the highest type, his loss 
will be keenly felt by every one. 

Tuesday, /^th February, 1913 
Owing to the death of Charles Randolph Snowden, 
Radnor Hounds did not go out to-day. 

While dressing to go for a ride this afternoon, Patrick 



lo RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

came running up to the house to tell me he could hear 
hounds down by the Darby Creek, so I hustled along and 
reached the creek just as a pack of hounds were swimming 
across. I recognized them as Rose Tree, but no one was 
with them, so I had things all to myself. 

They turned down the long meadow below the covered 
bridge, then worked slowly up over the hill and ran par- 
allel to the Lawrence Road to Grassland_^Station, where 
they turned left-handed and with a beautiful cry ran to 
the Ellis Road, where the fox had evidently been turned 
by a farmer, as hounds turned back and ran to the hill- 
side above the creek again, when I could hear a horn across 
the creek in the wood back of Bergdoll's, and presently 
two horsemen rode out of the wood. They came around 
by the bridge, and turned out to be Simon Delbert, the 
ex-Master of Rose Tree, and a whipper-in. Hounds had 
run quite away from them, and, as it was getting dark and 
they had six miles to go back to kennels, they whipped 
hounds off and we parted. 

Wednesday, I2th February, 1913, "LincoMs Birthday" 
A MORE unpropitious day for hunting it would have been 
hard to imagine. The mercury was at 14° when I left my 
stable at ten-thirty to hack over to the kennels for the 
meet at eleven. Not only was it cold, but a gale was 
blowing. 

The first draw was Mr. Ellis's meadow, but the big 
drains there proved blank. Hounds moved on down the 
Darby Creek to the wood back of Bergdoll's, where two 
foxes went away, the pack splitting, but most of the small 
field out went after that part of the pack that crossed the 
Pike, bearing left-handed to the Lawrence Mills, then up- 
country again, along the creek to the Fox Croft Quarries. 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL ii 

where, after a short check, hounds swung sharply around 
and took us back down-country again to the Mill. Cross- 
ing the Pike above the Mill, hounds ran at a faster pace 
over the meadows to Powder Rocks, then, reaching the 
hills again, they were brought to their noses as previously 
and worked their line on up-country, through Bromall to 
the Barrens, and on out to Bryn Mawr Avenue, where the 
fox was evidently turned, for hounds turned back once 
more and were finally whipped off in Bergdoll's Wood, 
after three hours and five minutes of very good hound 
work, but not a great deal of galloping, which, no doubt, 
was a good thing, as the going was hard as nails and the 
hillsides a mass of ice. 

Roscoe Bowen's chestnut mare went down in a ditch on 
the hilltops back of Bergdoll's, and both Roscoe and the 
mare were considerably the worse for wear; Roscoe so 
much so that he had to be taken to the hospital for repairs. 

There were very few who ventured out on such a day, 
and fewer still of us who stayed to the end; those at the 
meet being: Horace B. Hare, M.F.H.; Harry W. Harrison; 
Fred and Mrs. Sturges, but they left rather early; Harry 
and Miss Barclay; Mr. Fiske; Mrs. John Converse; Ned 
Blabon; Rowland Comly; Isaac Clothier; and Nelson 
Buckley. 

It seemed an impossible day to hunt. One would have 
said there would be no scent at all, which only goes to 
prove that the longer one hunts, the less one really knows 
about scent; or, maybe it is n't so much the foxes' scent as 
it is the condition of hounds; how they are hunted and 
whether they rely on themselves or rely on their hunts- 
man; and whether they are keen for their work or are 
slack. 



12 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

Thursday, 20th February, 1913 
When hounds break away on the road in going from the 
meet to the first covert, as they did to-day, when we 
moved off from Newtown Square at ten-thirty, and when 
one is riding a green colt that it's quite impossible to hold; 
and when one comes to grief at the first fence and never 
sees hounds again all day; — well, there's not a great 
deal one can say about the way hounds worked, or the 
line they took; but, fortunately, — or maybe it's unfor- 
tunate, — there were others who had their vicissitudes as 
well as I. 

A fox had evidently just crossed the road below the 
Square before hounds came along, for they broke away 
with a tremendous roar as we were moving off, and crossed 
over into Battles's Meadows, on across the Line Road 
keeping the green-houses on their right, and swinging 
right-handed into the Mark Hopkins farm. 

Back of the green-houses I came to grief in three strands 
of telegraph wire. Oh, yes! I saw the wire; but I could n't 
stop. Dave Sharp kindly caught my horse and put him in 
a lady's back yard, where all the family wash, composed 
principally of unmentionables, was hanging out to dry; 
and the least I can say is — that the lady was not at all 
pleased. After helping pick up the aforementioned un- 
mentionables that my horse had knocked down and walked 
on, I started out after hounds again; but the first thing I 
saw was Gerry Leiper being run away with on "Banker" 
Smith's grey roan. He went by Snakehouse Wood like an 
express train and stopped somewhere near White Horse, 
minus his shoes and with very sore feet. 

Next I met Miss Betty Sinnickson, very ruffled as re- 
gards her temper. She had been pulled off by a grapevine 
in the wood and a certain gallant foxhunter had galloped 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 13 

by and left her sitting in a brook, never offering a helping 
hand. After walking "miles and miles," as she said, she 
had found her horse tied to a fence ! 

Next I met Ned Blabon, near Gradyville, wrangling 
with a balky horse, and his temper was also a bit frayed at 
the edges. 

Then I met Ben Chew and Harry Barclay on the West 
Chester Pike; but they were also lost. 

Hounds ran their fox from the Square to Snakehouse 
Wood, to Castle Rocks, to Brooks's Wood, through the 
Hospital Farm to the Radnor Barrens, Lawrence Mills, 
and were whipped off at the Lamb Tavern. A very good 
place to whip off! 

Mrs. Valentine and Frank Smith, the second whipper- 
in, who had made a bad turn at the start, heard hounds on 
up-country, so, thinking they were Radnor, galloped 
after them, finally coming up to them only to discover they 
were Sam Kirk's and just putting a fox to earth in Cath- 
cart's Rocks, many miles from where our hounds were at 
that moment. 

Tuesday, 25/^ February, 19 13 
Only four of us were foolish enough, or keen enough — 
whichever way you want to put it, — to go hunting'to- 
day. Hounds waited around a bit after the scheduled 
time to move off, to see if any one else would turn up but 
with the glass at 12°, and a high wind, frozen fingers, and a 
horse that one could just hold, but maybe not much longer 
for he felt as if he was going to jump out of his skin the 
next second, the prospect did not look encouraging 

^ Fortunately, we (Mr. Fiske, Buck, Frank Lloyd, and I) 
did n't have to do much sitting around, for a fox was 
viewed away, immediately hounds were put into the 



14 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

Bromall Wood, and, pointing south, took us to Moore's 
and Hatton's, where hounds swung left-handed up the 
creek to the Lawrence Mills, over the creek and down 
country again to Leedom's Mill, through the wood and out 
across a very nice line of meadows for a couple of miles to 
the Media trolley line, where hounds turned sharply to the 
right and ran with a breast-high scent along the bank of 
the creek up to the old quarry, where a long log crosses the 
stream. Here the whole pack crossed on the log in a single 
file and all giving tongue. It was a wonderful picture and 
well worth braving the cold to see. 

Hounds ran on through the wood back of the quarry 
and on south, keeping the Lamb Tavern on their left, 
crossed the State Farm and on into Hatton's again, where, 
at a check, I pulled out, as I had to go in town. 

Hounds ran on for an hour and a quarter longer, 
finally being whipped off near the Lamb. 

Saturday, ist March, 1913 
Mud, mud, I '11 dream of mud to-night, for I have eaten 
it, galloped through it, and had both eyes filled with it all 
day long; and if hounds had not run in a big circle at first, 
which we were lucky enough to be on the inside of, we 
could never in the world have stayed with them. Then we 
were also greatly assisted by some men who were working 
on a barn roof near Walter Klemm's farm, who did a sort 
of signalling code to Bill Evans. After meeting at White 
Horse, we found in Wayne's Swamp, hounds going out 
the upper side through oceans of mud to Sugartown, 
then swinging left-handed down-country, through "Bill" 
Evans's to Cathcart's Rocks, out the lower side and back 
again to the Rocks, and on up-country to the Klemm 
Farm, where we saw our fox being coursed and very nearly 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 15 

caught by a collie dog, with the pack not a hundred yards 
behind the collie; but both the fox and the collie saved 
their brushes, hounds turning right-handed into Klemm's 
thicket, a terrible place to ride through, then on to 
Waynesboro again and up-country to the little schoolhouse 
on the State Road above Paoli, where we viewed, our fox 
seeming to be about beaten, with the pack pushing him 
very hard. 

Reynard was heading for the railroad, and Horace Hare 
called out — " Shall we kill him or whip hounds off? " Every 
one said to whip off, so it was done in the nick of time, and 
Reynard saved his brush for the second time to-day. 

Our horses were about done; many shoes were left in the 
mud; Mrs. Dave Sharp's and Ben Holland's horses had 
broken down; and Julian Biddle had taken a muddy bath 
along the bank of a lane. 

Hounds ran an hour and fifty minutes, and those in the 
best of it were: Dave and Mrs. Sharp; Fred and Mrs. 
Sturges; Mrs. Valentine; Bob Montgomery; Gerry Leiper; 
Frank Lloyd; Miss Carson; Mr. and Mrs. Grange; Bill 
Evans; Harry Harrison; and Harry and Miss Barclay. 

Good Friday, 21st March, 19 13 
It always leaves a good taste in one's mouth to end the 
season with a fast gallop after a stout fox. I don't know 
about the other people, but I always feel sort of sad and 
let down w^en the hunting is over. There are so many 
good friends and smiling faces one misses and never sees in 
the summer, except sometimes at horse shows and things 
like that. But it's a funny and characteristic failing, that 
if you meet a foxhunter at the races or a dog-fight or any 
other congenial gathering-place, you can always tell him 
at once by the smile on his face. 



1 6 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

However, I 'm off my track again, for I started out to 
tell about the last run of the season. Hounds met at the 
Kennels at ten o'clock, and found a cold line in the 
Bromall Wood, with scent very catchy and a hound only 
speaking to it here and there, until they had worked down 
to Powder Rocks, where they were able to do it a bit 
faster. Crossing into Moore's, they evidently were on 
pretty close terms with their fox, for they went very fast, 
and turned right-handed out across the meadows to the 
Milk House on the Springfield Road, then, swinging 
around, raced back to the Lawrence Mills, crossed the 
Pike, through Bergdoll's to the creek, and here most of the 
field made the mistake of going through Bergdoll's with 
hounds, so were all tied up in wire. A few of us crossed 
the Pike at the Hillcrest Farm, getting on even terms with 
hounds as they came up the creek. Crossing the Marple 
Road above Sanderson's, hounds fairly raced over the 
hills to the Chester Road and on through Saw Mill Hill to 
the Radnor Barrens, where we had our first check. It was 
hot and our horses were boiling, so was Alex. Brown, for 
he had a painful carbuncle on his neck. 

There were only eight of us there, out of a field of 
twenty-eight: Horace Hare; Harry Harrison; Alex. Brown; 
Antelo Devereux and Mrs. Devereux; Gerry Leiper; and 
Will Leverton. 

Scent seemed to fail from here on, for, after crossing 
Bryn Mawr Avenue into the Hospital Farm, hounds were 
put to their noses all the time; the line fizzing out com- 
pletely near Old Square. 



SEASON OF 1913-1914 



SEASON OF 1913-1914 

"Take Beecham's Pills, avoid strong drink, beware how 
you leave off flannel, and, whatever you do, don't change 
your mind when once you 've picked your panel!" 
Lindsay Gordon said that, and it's a thundering good 
rule to follow, whether you're riding a steeplechase, 
hunting, or merely doing the ordinary things of life. Per- 
sonally, I've never taken the aforementioned pills; but I 
have, I 'm sorry to say, changed my mind about the panel. 

However, it's no use trying to go on writing when you 
are so full of excitement about the opening of another 
hunting season. But there is that something about an 
opening day that makes one a bit nervous, as it were. 

Cub-hunting comes before the opening day, so we had 
better get at that first. 

Hounds started cubbing about the middle of August, 
with a good-sized and very likely-looking young entry, 
making a total of fifty-three and a half couples of hounds 
in kennel. 

One of the most interesting mornings was 29th October, 
when our hounds harked to Sam Kirk's pack which was 
running a fox on the Baltz Farm at Old Square. After 
making several big circles around Innes's and Brooks's 
Woods, where we viewed our fox a number of times, 
hounds were pressing him pretty hard, and Reynard evi- 
dently decided it was about time to go to ground. He 
went to earth, but just in the nick of time, for a black-and- 
tan hound came trotting proudly up to Sam Kirk, carry- 
ing about half of the fox's brush in its mouth. A pretty 
narrow squeak for Mr. Fox. 



20 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

Then on the ist of November, the opening day of the 
shooting season, Radnor hounds were running a dog fox 
through "Pick" Harrison's "Seventy-Six" Farm, when a 
man shot the fox right in front of hounds. Horace Hare 
was boiling mad, as we all were, and, from the cursing-out 
the poor devil received, I don't think he will ever shoot 
another fox. 

On 6th November hounds found a cub in Hatton's 
Wood, ran him out through Moore's, across into Powder 
Rocks, then on up the meadows, killing him on the edge of 
the Bromall Wood in thirteen minutes. 

But to hark back to the business of the day, the opening 
meet of the Season with its new horses, new boots, new 
liveries for the Hunt servants, some new ladies (they 
always help a lot), and some of Mr. Harrison's good hot 
toddy. 

Happy Creek Farms — never mind if I live to be a 
hundred, which I won't — will always be associated in my 
mind with the opening day of a season at Radnor. After a 
cheery how-de-do from the most hospitable hostess, a 
breakfast of just the right things to put into a hunting 
stomach, while sitting at a table with Penn Smith, who 
tells you, just previous to his starting out for a second 
round of everything, that he has n't missed one of these 
breakfasts of Mr. Harrison's since Mr. Mather was 
Master of Radnor. After this, one begins to feel really at 
home, and then somebody comes in and says hounds have 
arrived. You look at your wrist watch and find there are 
ten minutes yet to spare, so, just to make the day quite 
complete, you run down the steps into George Harrison's 
trophy room to take a peep at the best collection of heads 
in the country. That's a mighty good cigar the old butler 
gave you, but it's a bit strong, maybe, to smoke before 




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A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 21 

hunting, so you politely let it go out. Yes, your horse is 
here; there's the faithful Patrick walking him about. 
Horace Hare, M.F.H., comes out, gets up on "Plainsman," 
shortens his leathers, gives a few instructions to Will 
Leverton, who nods to Harry Brown, the first whipper-in, 
gives a note on his horn, and the season is on. 

Mr. Harrison's meadow, always the first draw, was 
blank to-day, so hounds go up-country to Sharp's Wood, 
where, as soon as a hound speaks, Dave Sharp is all ex- 
citement. The fox is viewed away and Dave gallops up, 
saying, "This is the greatest running fox in the country. 
I've fed him all summer on beefsteaks and mutton chops; 
he's eaten forty-two dollars' worth since the 15th of July." 
But a few playful bucks from the Master of Craft colt he 
is riding puts a stop to any further praises of his hand-fed 
fox. He may be a stout fox, or he may be suffering from 
the effects of his last Berwyn beefsteak; at any rate, he 
won't give us a gallop to-day, for he pops back to covert 
and goes to earth, much to every one's disgust, and a lot 
of good-natured chaffing at the Master of Hawthorne. 

Mr. Wayne's Wood, though, produces one of a more 
straight-necked variety, for he goes out the upper end of 
the covert, crosses into the Paoli Barrens, swings left- 
handed, and gives us a very nice forty-five minutes to 
earth on the Boyer Davis Farm. 

There were forty-six in the field, including the Master, 
Benjamin Chew, on "Oviat"; Fred and Mrs. Sturges, 
just over from Fairfield for the season, Fred on "Pocono" 
and the Mrs. on "Frosty"; Rowland Comly; Harry Harri- 
son; Mr. Fiske; Mr. Beale; George Brooke III on "Black- 
bird"; Bayard Rives, of New York, on a borrowed chest- 
nut mare; Antelo Devereux; Ned Blabon; Dave and Mrs. 
Sharp; Miss Rose Dolan on "Circus"; Henry and Mrs. 



22 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

Collins, of Pittsburgh; Bob Montgomery; Miss Ellen 
Mary Cassatt on "Tango"; Lowber and Walter Stokes; 
Mrs. Galloney; Mr. Wain in his breakcart; Miss Rulon 
Miller on a bay; Mr. Bodine; Mr. "Banker" Smith on a 
big seven teen-hand grey; Mr. Crosby Brown; and Julian 
Biddb 

Saturday, 20th December, 1913 
Every one knows — or should know, at least — that fox- 
hunting could not exist a moment in any country without 
the cooperation and good-will of the farmers; and in a 
country like Chester and Delaware Counties in Pennsyl- 
vania, where not only the present generation of farmers, 
but their grandfathers and great-grandfathers were fox- 
hunters before them, the relationship is very close between 
the so-called fashionable hunting-men and the farmer. 
There is that bond between them that has just that "some- 
thing" in it that no one can describe. One can never mis- 
take it, that tie of friendship between foxhunters, no 
matter where they meet; and I doubt if there is another 
Hunt Club in America, besides Radnor, that is annually 
given a Hunt Breakfast by a bona-fide farmer over whose 
lands it hunts. 

That the native farmer of the Radnor country has fox- 
lore bred in him, is extremely well told by Clifton Lisle in a 
series of articles published recently, a part of which is as 
follows : 

"Perhaps the best example of that deep-rooted love of 
hunting which existed in the farmer of a century ago, as 
strongly as it does in the one of to-day, is the story of 
Jesse Russell, of Edgemont Township, on whose farm rose 
Hunting Hill, then, as now, a well-known covert from 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 23 

which many a good fox has broken on his last run before 
the hounds. Jesse Russell, after a lifetime spent in cheer- 
ing on the hounds, asked, as he lay dying, that he might be 
buried on Hunting Hill in order that the cry of the hounds, 
as they found their fox, might ring in his ears from season 
to season until the end of time. His request was granted, 
and his grave can be seen to this day on the northern side 
of Hunting Hill. Scarcely a week goes by, from October 
frost till the thaws of April, but the Rose Tree Hounds 
come working over the woodland hilltop close by the little 
stone-walled enclosure. The sound of the horn still echoes 
through the trees, the opening note of the find still floats 
out across the pastures towards Newtown, and the good 
old cheer of 'Tally-Ho! Gone Away!' still rings on the 
frosty air above the grave of Jesse Russell, farmer, a sports- 
man to the end. He was but typical of countless others. 

"Our hunting farmers of to-day are men of the same 
sort. They have made hunting what it is among us. The 
farmers own the land on which the sport exists. They 
alone can make or mar it. Like the brave old sporting 
farmer of Hunting Hill, may they ever love the cry of 
hounds and ever lend their aid to the sport, for, without 
that, there can be no lasting success." 

I started out to write about to-day's run that followed a 
most delightful breakfast given by Sam and Mrs. Kirk at 
White Horse. There were quite a hundred at the party at 
nine o'clock, and over eighty of them were hunting, which 
speaks well for the popularity of our farmer friend. Sam 
Kirk and his hounds are as much an institution in the 
Radnor country as are the Radnor hounds, and when the 
two packs hunt together, as they did to-day, good sport is 
invariably the rule. 



24 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

Three foxes were on foot. The first, from Kirk's Wood, 
crossed the Goshen Road into Mr. Cuyler's, and hounds, 
being put to their noses, carried him over into Mr. Charl- 
ton Yarnall's, where scent failed completely. 

The second was viewed away from Bill Evans's Wood, 
when hounds pushed him over the meadows with a hold- 
ing scent, on up the hill on the White Horse Farm to Cath- 
cart's Rocks, where they marked him under. 

The third was a home-loving beast, for, after making 
three complete turns from end to end of the Malvern 
Barrens, hounds finally pushed him out the lower side, 
going at a good clip to Evans's Wood, swinging right- 
handed to Fairy Hill, out the north end and across the 
Bryn Clovis Dairy Farm, when hounds pushed him back 
to the Barrens and to earth in just an hour. 

Besides the two Masters, Horace B. Hare and Samuel 
Kirk, there were: Fred and Mrs. Sturges; Ben Chew; Alex- 
ander Wheeler; Alex. Brown; John Converse; Dave and 
Mrs. Sharp; Mrs. Howard Henry; John Fell; Ned and 
Mrs. Blabon; Ben Holland; Clyde John; Henry and Mrs. 
Collins; Frank Lloyd; and Alex. Grange. 

Tuesday, 2yd December, 1913 
Although Goshen School is our farthest up-country meet, 
it ranks next in popularity with White Horse; but, as luck 
will have it, it nearly always is cold as blazes, or rains, or 
something, when hounds meet there, to make a long, long 
hack home seem just that much longer. 

But, instead of that, let's think of the delights of riding 
home with some charming girl, who is just as wet and 
cold as you are, but who does n't seem to mind it; and, as 
Sabretache in "The Tatler" says: "But what if your nose 
is all scratched, your thumb sprained and your knees all 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 25 

raw? Think of the hot bath, and the hot with (also with 
lemon), then dinner, then yawns before the fire, then bed, 
and then dreams, the sound of the Percival; the pistol 
shots of the well-dubbined thong that go^echoing in Thrust- 
ington Woods, the deep notes of Abelard, Abigail, and the 
other beauties; the swish over that big place; the way 
your horse pulled you out of the saddle for the first two 
miles, and then went like the good 'un he is, making light 
of that hillside, and fair sailing over even the plow; then, 
cuss him, your servant knocks on the door and spoils the 
whole show; and you know that, even if you do go to sleep 
again, you won't dream it all over again." But, for Hea- 
ven's sake, let's "Tally-Ho Bike"; we are n't even at the 
meet yet. 

Shellbark Hollow, always the first draw from a Goshen 
meet, was blank to-day; but the Hershey's Mill fox was 
at home. He kindly allowed us all to see him leave home 
soon after we arrived. He went out of covert just in front 
of hounds, the whole pack running by sight across the big 
fields in front of the Brown place to the wood, where a 
sharp, right-handed turn brought hounds to their noses; 
then, carrying a good scent with a beautiful cry, they 
raced back to the hill above the Mill, over the King Road, 
and into the thicket. Here a big new, four-rail fence, took 
a lot of doing and held things up a moment. Mrs. Fred 
Sturges's new brown mare "Grandma" turned upside 
down, but they were up and going again in a minute, with 
hounds now fairly flying towards Frazier; but, keeping 
the station well on their right, pushed their fox to ground 
near the covert, after having given us a delightful sixty- 
five minutes. 

A second fox was pushed out of a neighboring wood, but 
hounds were barely settled to the line when the rain came 



26 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

down in torrents, scent failing at once. Coat-collars were 
turned up, throat-latches buttoned, and the wet proces- 
sion started for home. Fifteen miles is a long way in the 
rain. 

Tuesday, ^oth December, 19 13 
Some crossroads may be appropriate places for hounds to 
meet, but an old country inn or tavern always seems to 
me the more fitting spot. There's that air of the old-time 
world and a certain lack of present-day hustle and bustle 
about an inn that fits in so well with hounds. 

Newtown Square this morning at ten-thirty was more 
like a lazy day in early June than the end of December; 
and, to quote the newspapers, the present month has been 
the warmest December since 1790. Hounds have not been 
stopped by frost yet this season, and the farmers are be- 
ginning to worry about getting their ice-houses filled. 

Mr. Vauclain's peach orchard was, as usual, the first 
draw; hounds finding at once, and Reynard giving us a 
nice view as he leaped out over the tall grass, ran to the 
top of the hill, sat down, looked around at hounds, and, 
after taking stock of the situation, galloped on, making a 
big circle of the farm, hounds carrying the line back to 
covert; but, pushing through, crossed the Newtown Road 
into Battles, and, keeping the little stone farmhouse on 
their left, swung down into Snakehouse Wood and on 
through to Trimble's Hollow; then, bearing left-handed, 
they fairly raced down the meadows to the covered bridge 
on the Line Road, where, at a moment's check, hounds 
ran on up the hillside to the Glendenning Farm, checking 
again along the creek opposite the Mark Hopkins barn. 

A farmhand at the barn had viewed, so a forward cast 
by Will Leverton put hounds right again, and, pointing 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 27 

down-country, they carried it to Palmer's Mill, through 
the covered bridge (nothing sounds better than a pack in 
full cry going through a covered bridge) to the Rose Tree 
Race Track, where they made the lower turn of the track, 
and sinking the hill crossed the road into Dr. Jim Hutch- 
inson's farm. 

Hounds were at fault in the quarry an instant, then 
running up the creek through Palmer's Mill again, and on 
over the same line as we had come down-country to 
Snakehouse and Trimble's Hollow; hounds being whipped 
off at the covered bridge in the hollow, after two hours and 
forty minutes of very beautiful hound work, and scent 
just holding enough to keep them on their noses and allow 
the field to stay on terms with them. It's a hilly bit of 
country, but something quite fascinating about it, and 
hounds are apt to run well there, but not at great speed. 
There were not many out, only Henry and Mrs. Collins; 
Mrs. Victor Mather; Fred and Mrs. Sturges; Miss Betty 
Sinnickson; Miss Ruth Wood; Isaac and Mrs. Clothier; 
and Ned Dougherty. 

Saturday, lyth January, 1914 
It*s always a great pleasure, as well as very good for one, 
to hunt with a neighboring pack. One gets in a rut if one 
never sees how they do it in some one's else country; and 
to-day's run with the Brandywine, although short, was 
most interesting and delightful. 

But how could it be anything but delightful, with such 
a host as the Master of the Brandywine, Charles E. 
Mather, Esq., and his two charming foxhunting daughters 
to receive you and your wife, even if it was raining like 
the proverbial cats and dogs, and the prospects for the 
morrow anything but propitious. But after a good dinner. 



28 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

a pleasant chat for a couple of hours with a bit of music, 
we went out and took a smell at the weather and decided 
the worst of the storm was over and that the morrow 
would be fine. Our guess was right. The morning was 
beautiful. Hounds were on the hill back of the house when 
we had finished breakfast at nine-thirty, and the horses 
waiting for us at the door. 

Mr. Mather kindly mounted me on a chestnut mare, 
"Southern Girl" out of "Miss Louden," by "Pagan," 
one of his own breeding, as were all the other horses in the 
field, including the hounds. 

Mr. William M. Kerr drove in the gate just as we were 
getting up. He was given that good old chaser "Home- 
spun" to ride, and we jogged over to take a look at the 
hounds, and as Sabretache says in "The Tatler": 

"There's a very different feeling comes to one on a morn- 
ing like this. It's all a bit strange, the horse, the hounds, 
the country; and, my! how big and upstanding the fences 
are, and you wish the other fellows did not look so con- 
foundedly brave. But it all vanishes after you've had 
two or three of the best, and 'Chestnutoss' has given 
you that great feel, that he always did, of being able to go 
about six inches higher and two yards farther, if necessary, 
and the saddle, that seemed to have forgotten how to fit 
you, slips back into all the old niches that make you be- 
lieve that you could n't possibly come unstuck, even if he 
went half across the next field on his head! One light note 
in covert, the crash as hounds go out over the boundary 
fence, one touch of the horn, and the whistle of God's 
glorious oxygen past your back hair as 'Chestnutoss* 
gets a nice hold and drops on to his bit with a sort of 
*what's-all-the-fuss-about?' manner, and you are right 
in a thing called a trivet — whatever that may be I 've 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 29 

never owned a trivet myself — only a greyhound and a 
disreputable black cat." 

Thompson had out a mixed pack of twenty and a half 
couples of as nice-looking hounds as I ever had the good 
fortune to ride behind; but conditions were against us by 
the time we reached the first covert, as a high, cold wind 
sprang up at ten o'clock. Hounds had many blank draws, 
but pushed on northward until finally Jack Potter, the first 
whipper-in, viewed a fox away from Young's Wood with 
hounds right on his brush. They fairly flew, giving us a 
fifteen-minute gallop over a beautiful line of grass country 
to earth on the hillside back of the Poor House. Hounds 
were marking their fox well to ground, when we came up. 

"Homespun" came to grief with Mr. Kerr right at the 
start; but they were up and going again immediately and 
none the worse for wear. 

The field was small, which adds so much to one's 
pleasure, including only the Master; Miss Josephine 
Mather; Miss Dorothy Mather; Mr. Kerr; Gilbert Mather; 
and a couple of farmer friends. 

Friday, 2yd January, 19 14 
After having drawn the Radnor Barrens and Hospital 
Farm blank, we met Serrill's hounds at Newtown Square, 
and, joining forces, crossed the Pike into Mr. Vauclain's 
meadow, where hounds went away at once, giving volumes 
of tongue through the tall grass, when, to our surprise, a 
black cat was viewed away, fairly sailing over the next 
field with a fox not fifty yards behind it. Mr. Cat went to 
earth or a tree, but the fox was a straight-necked chap, 
for he pointed to Snakehouse, but, keeping it on his left, 
led hounds with a catchy scent to Trimble's Hollow, where 
scent improved wonderfully, hounds racing at top speed 



30 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

through Hunting Hill to Castle Rocks, where they turned 
right-handed down the creek to Trimble's Hollow again, 
on to Broadlawn and back to earth in Snakehouse Wood, 
in fifty-three minutes of very fast work, especially the last 
part of it. 

Mrs. Sharp, riding a beautiful line of her own, quite dis- 
tinguished herself over a lot of big worm fences. 

Among the others in the best of it were: Mrs. Paul D. 
Mills; Miss Gertrude Henry; Alex. Brown; Fred and Mrs. 
Sturges; Ned Blabon; and Ned and Miss Dougherty. 

Tuesday, 2'jth January, 1914 
Owing to a heavy fog, hounds were kept in kennels until 
noon, and by that time practically the entire field was 
made up of ladies, the principal topic of conversation being 
the news that W. Plunket Stewart had just bought a large 
farm near Unionville, and the Unionville hounds as well, 
expecting to establish a pack there and hunt the country, 
calling it the Cheshire. 

Hounds found in Innes's Wood, getting away on good 
terms with their fox, raced him across the White Horse 
Road into the Delmas Farm, to Lockwood's Hollow, 
through the Leopard to Hawthorne, where they swung 
down-country to Old Square, when at a moment's check 
they went on to the Hospital Farm, where, in doing the 
in and out over the railroad, Miss Frances Stokes's horse 
went down on the ice, breaking her left leg above the ankle. 
After being put up, she rode her horse out the lane with Miss 
Barclay and Miss Gladys Williams, and there met Plunket 
Stewart's motor, which kindly took her to the hospital. 

Hounds went on, crossing Bryn Mawr Avenue into the 
Barrens, to Foxcroft, Bromall, and down-country to the 
Lawrence Mills. 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 31 

Thursday, yd February, 19 14 
In drawing the Charlton Yarnall Farm, Radnor hounds 
harked to Sam Kirk's pack that had just found, and 
Radnor's field had a hard gallop to get on terms with the 
two packs, which they did in the White Horse Farm. 

As we were coming out by the Red Bridge, the wife 
of a well-known M.F.H. turned upside down in the big 
meadow, but, fortunately, it was good falling to-day, as 
the going was soft. Fred Sturges and Ben Chew caught 
her horse, put her up, and off she galloped, never waiting 
for them to get up, and, as Fred Sturges's "Pocono" is 
sometimes hard to mount, he lost a good part of the run, 
but finally caught up. 

Hounds ran with a fair scent to Cathcart's Rocks, over 
the hill and on to Malvern Barrens, where another wife of 
an M.F.H. came to grief, and, unfortunately, with more 
dire results, but to the horse and not the lady. "Failian," 
Mrs. Valentine's good chestnut hunter, put his foot in a 
deep frozen hole, turned over, and cut his leg badly. 
Howard Lewis stopped the blood, and Mrs. Howard 
Henry rode home with her; but it was Mrs, Valentine's 
unlucky day, as having telephoned for her motor, and 
coming by the corner at Old Square, it met a Ford truck 
head on. The result, as may be imagined, was quite disas- 
trous to the Ford. In the meantime, hounds had gone 
through the Barrens and out the upper end. Crossing the 
Sugartown Road, they bore right-handed across the State 
Road by the Rush Hospital, and fairly flew on up-country 
to Hershey's Mill, where, instead of going to earth as we 
all expected, our fox went on to the Convent; keeping it 
on their right, hounds ran to Green Hill Station, then 
left-handed to Hoopes Bros, and Thomas Nurseries, where 
scent failed, as it so often does in these nurseries; but. 



32 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

having had an hour and fifty minutes of good galloping, 
every one was quite ready to call it quits, especially those 
who had to ride the thirteen miles back to kennels. 

There were very few left at the bitter end; only Horace 
Hare, M.F.H.; Fred and Mrs. Sturges; Ned Blabon; 
Antelo and Mrs. Devereux; "Pick" Harrison; Mrs. Bill 
Clothier; Miss Ruth Wood; "Bill" Warden; Mr. Fiske; 
and "Jack" Caffery. 

Tuesday, ^ist March, 19 14 
There Is always a great satisfaction in ending anything 
well, whether it's a story, a love affair, or a hunting season. 
Hounds did it to-day to the Queen's taste. 

Meeting at the kennels at seven a.m., hounds found 
their fox in Dr. Bartholomew's Wood, and, although the 
sun was hot and horses lathered from the start, ran their 
fox for two hours and twenty minutes with hardly a check 
worth mentioning. Joe Serrill viewed this fox crossing the 
Leopard Road, hounds running with a breast-high scent 
into the Delmas Farm, to Mr. Pepper's, Lockwood's 
Hollow, Van Meeter's, and Cathcart's Rocks, where a 
Boy Scout viewed again, then on to William Evans's, the 
Boyer Davis Farm, and into the Malvern Barrens. 
Racing through covert, hounds crossed the road into the 
Rush Hospital, where a man working on a roof viewed 
again and waved us on up-country; and, keeping Gosh- 
enville to their right, hounds ran in sight of their fox 
through an orchard, and, turning homewards, came back 
to the Barrens, on down through Evans's to the White 
Horse Farm, where we viewed again, with the fox barely 
a hundred yards in front of hounds. But Reynard 
made the wood first, hounds pushing him on to Lock- 
wood's Hollow; where, as some one said, it was a pity to 




'ilhuutttvby Ifit Author 

MRS. JOHN R. VALENTINE ON " FAILIAN " 
1914 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 23 

kill a good vixen, hounds were whipped off and the season 
closed. 

There were only eight of us out: Horace Hare; Mr. 
Fiske; Fred and Mrs. Sturges; Mrs. Sharp; "Bill" Rolin; 
and Frank Lloyd. 



SEASON OF 1914-1915 



SEASON OF 1914-191S 

It has always seemed to me that those hunting people who 
never begin hunting until the regular season commences, 
in November, miss half the delights of the game. Any- 
thing that one gets real enjoyment from is worth a little 
hardship; and it certainly pays in regard to hunting. 

It seems like getting up in the middle of the night the 
first time one does it; but that good early morning smell; 
the hack to covert in the dark; and the glorious music of 
about thirty couples of hounds as they go swishing through 
the wet grass; a field of only three or four out and all in 
rat-catcher kit, and all with the same trend of thought! 
Who Is the "lay-a-bed" chap who says it does not pay.'' 
He's never tried it; that's the reason he talks as he does. 

"But what a blessing it is," as my father used to say, 
"that we all don't think alike." Otherwise, there would 
be no nice small fields in August and September, and we 
would not have that feeling, after a morning's cubbing, of 
having sort of "put one over" on the other fellows. 

The present generation of sportsmen — and especially 
the younger ones — are a bit prone to want their sport 
made easy for them. Motors, too, have quite taken away 
one of the most delightful parts of a day's hunting; that of 
hacking to the meet and the hack home with a congenial 
friend; a good pipe of tobacco and maybe a nip or two 
from a flask; and, as Sabretache, in his "Pictures in the 
Fire," says: 

"How often in riding to the meet have you met and 
been greatly amused by overtaking a chap who evidently 
had gotten out of bed that morning with the wrong foot 



38 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

first. Nothing is right with him or his world; horse won't 
walk; there's a button giving him Hades inside his boot; 
the bad-worded groom has put on the very saddle that he 
does n't like; it's a rotten part of the country we are going 
into; not a dog's earthly of a gallop, and, even if we do, the 
whole place is wired like a mouse-trap; then, cuss these 
motors that make his nasty, flashy, washy chestnut shy 
and go up on the bank; dash the wind that won't let him 
light a cigarette; and if ever he rides that horse again may 
he be boiled; he'd sell him for half-a-pound of tea (rather 
a high figure to put on him in these days); and why the 
devil grooms put on odd leathers and can't take the 
trouble to burnish one's irons, blessed if he knows . . . and 
so forth and so on! Poor old thing! He's bound to be in 
trouble, a man like this, who starts out looking for it. 
First thing that happens to him is that the chestnut, who 
will not wait his turn at a gate, bangs his knee against it, 
and then, raking at his bridle, nearly puts one of his 
thumbs out of joint against the breast-plate; next thing, at 
a small place that a donkey could jump, the chestnut drops 
his hind legs in, and flounders and sprawls in a manner 
that nearly causes the owner to leave the plate. Know 
him? Of course, you know him, so do we all!" 

So different from the other kind of fellow, who, like the 
"lady" who went to the ball-dance and said she'd had a 
splendid time — three falls, four Scotches, and a mazurka 
— is full of beans and benevolence, no matter what 
happens. When you meet him after the first scene of the 
first act, — say after those men on the haystack have in- 
terfered with the plot as originally arranged by the high- 
class expert who is hunting the hounds, — he has a nasty 
red-mark bang across his nose, there's a hole in the top of 
his new "Hard-hitter," and the nice-looking bay five- 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 39 

year-old he is riding has a large consignment of Chester 
County distributed over his forehead-band and face. Mr. 
Fuller-Beans says, in reply to your inquiry about the 
bouleversement: "Not a bit, old cock! And he's never put 
a foot wrong since! A real topper, and he'll make up into 
one of the very best." And that nice, persevering young 
bay horse does perform brilliantly in Act II, just because 
he realizes that Mr. Fuller-Beans's heart is in the right 
place, and that a little matter like that fall over the bit of 
a stick that mended that gap is not the kind of thing that 
is going to choke him off or upset his temper. However, 
it takes all kinds of people to make up the world, and 
most of them are pretty nice, especially the ladies. 

Hounds went cubbing for the first time in 191 5, on 
August 31st, at five-thirty from the kennels. From then 
on, until the opening of the season, sport was fair, with a 
good showing of cubs, but very dry weather, which inter- 
fered with scent at times. 

Horace B. Hare, M.F.H., Harry W. Harrison, Francis 
V. Lloyd, and Mrs. Victor C. Mather have been the regu- 
lars out; but the meet at Happy Creek Farms on Saturday, 
7th November, brought out a field of forty-five. Hounds 
met as usual on the lawn at ten o'clock; but the country 
was so dry that scent was poor all day. Finding their 
first fox in Innes's Wood, hounds ran to Brooks's Wood, 
turned east and worked slowly out to the Leopard Road, 
where they gave it up. A second fox was viewed away 
from Dr. Bartholomew's Wood, hounds crossing the road 
into Mr. Pepper's, then left-handed to the Delmas Farm, 
over the White Horse Road to Innes's Wood, and on down 
country to earth in Harrison's meadow. Hounds then 
pushed a third fox out of Mr. John Brown's covert, but 
could do nothing with it, so were taken home. 



40 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

BRYN MAWR HOUND SHOW 
September, 1 91 4 

The first step in any direction is always the hardest, and 
John Valentine, Plunket Stewart, and I did a lot of talk- 
ing, thinking, and scheming before we finally decided to 
try and hold a Hound Show in connection with the Bryn 
Mawr Horse Show. 

We finally called a meeting of the Masters of Hounds of 
the neighborhood, and, finding it was agreeable to them, 
set to work to raise the necessary funds. 

That good sportsman, Mr. Beale, was the first to make 
a donation, and from then on things went quite smoothly. 
We elected officers, etc., made up our classes, sent out 
notices, and finally the entry blanks, with the following 
Committees, Judges, etc.: 

COMMITTEES 

Executive Committee 
John R. Valentine, Esq., M.F.H., J. Stanley Reeve, Esq., Secretary. 

Chairman. Charles E. Mather, Esq., M.F.H. 
W. Plunket Stewart, Esq., M.F.H., Samuel D. Riddle, Esq., M.F.H. 

Treasurer. A. Henry Higginson, Esq., M.F.H. 

Committee on American Fox Hounds 

S. D. Riddle, Esq., M.F.H., M. R. Jackson, Esq., M.F.H., 

Chairman. Secretary. 

William J. Clothier, Esq., M.F.H. W. P. Stewart, Esq., M.F.H. 

Committee on English Fox Hounds 

Charles E. Mather, Esq., M.F.H., A. Henry Higginson, Esq., M.F.H. 
Chairman. Secretary. 

Watson Webb, Esq., M.F.H. John R. Townsend, Esq., M.F.H. 

Committee on Half-Bred Fox Hounds 

Horace B. Hare, Esq., M.F.H., J. Stanley Reeve, Esq., Secretary 

Chairman. Wallace W.Lanahan, Esq., M.F.H. 
Redmond C. Stewart, Esq., M.F.H. 




W ^ 



X "So 

w <S 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 41 

Committee on Beagles 

W. Plunket Stewart, Esq., M.F.H., William W. Justice, Jr., Esq., 

Chairman. Secretary 

Clarence Clark, III, Esq., M.B.H., R. Penn Smith, Jr., Esq. 
Thomas Cadwalader, Esq. 

Honorary Committee 

F. A. Bonsall, Esq., M.F.H. Harry Nicholas, Esq., M.F.H. 

Benj. H. Brewster, Esq., M.F.H. James Parke, Esq., M.F.H. 
Sir Adam Beck, M.F.H. S. D. Riddle, Esq., M.F.H. 

George Beardmore, Esq., M.F.H. J. Stanley Reeve, Esq. 
William J. Clothier, Esq., M.F.H. Redmond C. Stewart, Esq., M.F.H. 
R. L. Gerry, Esq., M.F.H. W. P. Stewart, Esq., M.F.H. 

John J. Gheen, Esq., M.F.H. D. Sands, Esq., M.F.H. 

Thomas Hitchcock, Esq., M.F.H. J. R. Thomas, Esq., M.F.H. 
Horace B. Hare, Esq., M.F.H. J. R. Townsend, Esq., M.F.H. 

A. Henry Higginson, Esq., M.F.H. Oakleigh Thorn, Esq., M.F.H. 
M. R. Jackson, Esq., M.F.H. Henry G. Vaughan, Esq., M.F.H, 

W. Lester Jones, Esq., M.F.H. John R. Valentine, Esq., M.F.H. 

Samuel Kirk, Esq., M.F.H. Watson Webb, Esq., M.F.H. 

W. A. Earned, Esq., M.F.H. W. A. Wadsworth, Esq., M.F.H. 

Wallace W. Lanahan, Esq., M.F.H. W. F. Wilbur, Esq., M.F.H. 
J. G. Leiper, Jr., Esq., M.F.H. W. C. Wilson, Esq., M.F.H. 

Charles E. Alather, Esq., M.F.H. Dr. R. E. Webster, Esq., M.F.H. 
A. E. Ogilvie, Esq., M.F.H. 

HOUND SHOW JUDGES 

American Hounds 

A. C. Heffenger, Esq., M.D., Portsmouth, N.H. 
Dr. Charles F. Oat, West Chester. 

English and Half-Bred Hounds 

Foxhall P. Keene, Esq., New York 
Edward H. Carle, Esq., Millbrook, N.Y. 

Beagles 

Thomas Cadwalader, Esq., Philadelphia 
Elliot C. Cowdin, Esq., New York 

The entries quite surprised us, and at closing time we 
had hounds and beagles from twenty-one of the foremost 
kennels in America, namely: Myopia, Brandy wine, Ches- 



42 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

hire, Elkridge, Green Spring Valley, Harford County, 
Middlesex, Mr. McComb's Hounds, Meadow Brook, 
Piedmont, Pickering, Radnor, Rose Tree, Mr. Riddle's, 
White Marsh Valley, and Wheatley Beagles, Radnor 
Beagles, Mr. Justice's Beagles, Mr. Barnard's Beagles, 
Mr. Rieger's and Somerset Beagles. 

Showing fox hounds was more or less of a new game to 
many of the Masters, but it was most encouraging to 
some of us who had worked over the show to see their en- 
thusiasm and to have their support; and, whether their 
hounds won or lost, they all promised to come back next 
year. 

Wednesday, iSth November, 19 14 
As Chester County and the Radnor side of Delaware 
County are under quarantine, owing to the epidemic of 
hoof and mouth disease, Radnor hounds are forced to re- 
main in kennels. 

As Rose Tree, under M. Roy Jackson, M.F.H., are still 
going out, Plunket Stewart, Fred Sturges, and I had a 
most enjoyable day with them, meeting at the Rose Tree 
kennels at eight-thirty, with a small field of eight, in- 
cluding Mrs. Sellers, Emanuel Hey, "Lee" Riddle, George 
Donnon, and a colored man, who annoyed Plunket Stew- 
art greatly, by being always just in front of him, until 
hounds found and were really away, when we had things 
all to ourselves, while it lasted; but the pleasure was short, 
though exciting, nevertheless. 

After drawing several large coverts, a fox was finally 
viewed away from Darlington's Thicket; hounds giving 
volumes of tongue and, only two fields behind their fox, 
raced him for about five minutes, catching up with him 
at a worm fence; the fox zigzaging through it, with hounds 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 43 

snapping at him from all sides, until at a corner in the 
fence they rolled him over, when, much to our surprise, the 
fox jumped out of the middle of the pack and ran into a 
wood. Going through the wood into one Harry Phillips's 
farmyard, hounds rolled him over again. We thought, of 
course, hounds had certainly killed this time; but luck was 
with this fox, for, when we galloped down the lane into 
the yard, instead of finding hounds breaking him up, 
there sat Reynard on the window-sill, inside the spring- 
house, looking out and making faces at the hounds. 

Plunket Stewart's big grey "Ben" fell on a slippery 
bank, just at the spring-house, but, fortunately, with no 
very serious results. 

5th January, 191 5 
Hounds were quarantined until New Year's Day, so we 
missed the six best weeks of the season; but such is fate. 

The first draw to-day was Broadlawn, but found it 
blank, and in working up the creak found a fox on foot in 
Castle Rocks, but he loved his home too well and popped 
under in a very few minutes. 

On crossing the Pike into Delchester Farms, a good fox 
went out of covert, hounds working it slowly, and at a 
nice hand gallop, for an hour and ten minutes. Coming out 
of Delchester, hounds crossed the Goshen Road into Fairy 
Hill, through it to the Bryn Clovis Dairy, over the Sugar- 
town Road into William Evans's wood, where accidents be- 
gan to happen. Mrs. Fred Sturges hit the limb of a tree 
and had a very bloody nose, as did Ben Chew. I had a fall 
on the frozen ground over the fence into Evans's meadow, 
and Harry Harrison did likewise a few minutes later. 

Hounds ran on slowly to Cathcart's Rocks, made a cir- 
cle of the White Horse Farm, going back to the Rocks and 



44 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

out the other side to Van Meeter's, where, at a check, they 
were taken home. 

Thursday, 14th January, 19 15 
Hounds met at the kennels at ten-thirty, with a good 
share of the field made up of the fair sex; and what could 
be more delightful? We hacked up the Goshen Road to 
Brooks's Wood, and it fell to my good fortune to ride with 
a most beautiful and dashing young lady, who was very 
evidently trying in a roundabout way to lead me to believe 
that the recent gossip about her and a certain Mr. G., a 
rather flighty foxhunter from a neighboring country, was 
not true. I, apparently, swallowed it all, but know other- 
wise, as I happened to be there, as Buck would say, "me- 
self." 

However, I don't blame the man at all, and, besides, 
what can a gentleman do, under the circumstances, espe- 
cially when the lady is so extremely alluring? And what 's 
more, she goes — well to hounds too. Women and hounds 
are a bad combination, and, when taken separately, they 
of^en enough lead to as much mischief as when combined. 
But, be that as it may, when we arrived at Brooks's Wood, 
Horace Hare discovered that Sam Kirk's hounds were in 
covert ahead of us. He passed the word along, and we gal- 
loped "hell for leather" to the covered bridge and put 
hounds into Mr. Yarnall's covert before Kirkie reached 
there. They opened up at once, just beyond the lake, run- 
ning with a beautiful cry up the hillside, where we viewed 
our fox, creeping along the foundations of Mr. Yarnall's 
new house, just as hounds rolled him over. 

When Horace and Will Leverton were doing the honors 
over Reynard's remains, it was discovered he had one hind 
leg fast in a steel trap, with about twelve inches of heavy 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 45 

chain attached to the trap, so no wonder the poor fox 
was caught so quickly. With Will Leverton riding in front, 
holding the fox, trap, and chain, we all very solemnly 
rode over to Mr. Yarnall's farmhouse, called the farmer 
out, presented him with the fox, and told him to keep it 
and show it to Mr. Yarnall. Of course, he said he did n't 
set the trap, etc. But — it should n't occur. 

Solemnly we moved on, hoping the farmer had been 
deeply impressed with the seriousness of the situation, and, 
on reaching Cathcart's Rocks, "Pick" Harrison viewed 
another fox out the upper side of covert. Hounds were 
lifted to the view, took it up at once, and swung left- 
handed back to the Rocks and out the other side, as if go- 
ing down-country. Most of the field had galloped up the 
hill back of covert, so, when hounds came crashing back 
over the creek and out the upper end again, nearly every 
one had a bad start. But a few of us were on the inside of 
the circle and had a beautiful gallop to "Bill" Evans's and 
through Boyer Davis's, to the earth outside the Malvern 
Barrens, where hounds marked their fox to ground. 

Our third fox must have had a lady-love in covert, for 
he would not go out and run. Several times hounds pushed 
him out a few yards, when he would turn back, and on one 
occasion Ned Blabon tried to head him off, but the fox 
dodged around his horse and beat him to it. 

Saturday, 16th January, 1(315 
It's a long, long drill to Goshen School, where we met this 
beautiful day; and after finding Shellbark and Hershey's 
Mill blank, worked down-country to Charles Cox's, where 
a good stout fox broke right in front of hounds, and we 
were sailing along when my faithful horse **Castlereagh'* 
put me down in a wood lane, just below Rocky Hill. 



46 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

Jack CafFery caught my horse, and, after a short gallop, 
caught hounds at a check and just in time to see Sam Chew 
and "Jim Bloodso" slide around the corner at Rocky Hill 
on their backs. I thought I was muddy, but Sam did me 
one better. 

Hounds now turned sharply east, and, keeping the Mal- 
vern Barrens on their right, crossed the State Road into 
the Hog Lane Woods, then on up-country to Hershey's 
Mill, where they turned again, and heading down-country 
fairly flew towards the Malvern Barrens. 

Where hounds finally flew to, I have n't heard, for I 
stopped in the Stuart Farm with Bob Montgomery, to see 
if we could do anything to help Alexander D. "Rudder" 
Grange, whose horse, "Golden Glow," had turned over on 
him, in jumping a fence out of a soft cornfield. He looked in 
pretty bad shape when we carried him into the Stuart cot- 
tage on a shutter, and Dr. Kurtz, of Malvern, who arrived 
soon after, confirmed our worst fears. It seemed hours be- 
fore the ambulance from the Bryn Mawr Hospital came; 
but, fortunately, unconsciousness relieved his suffering, 
and, in spite of an operation, as the last resort, he died 
Tuesday morning. 

Monday, 22nd February, 1915 
" Washington's Birthday " 

"Too many cooks spoil the broth," and I 've often felt that 
too many packs of hounds spoil a hunt; but I was wrong 
to-day, for, despite having three packs together, hounds 
ran two hours and fifteen minutes. 

We met at White Horse — Radnor, Kirk's, and Serrill's 
hounds — and, as they moved ofi^, I could n't help thinking 
of the poem about Andy Hartigan's bobbery pack, that 
came out in Punchy some time ago. 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 47 

THE BOBBERY PACK 

Andy Hartigan's dead and gone 

Over the hills and further yet, 

But he drank good port and his red face shone 

Like a cider apple of Somerset. 

Ten strange couples o' hounds he had — 
■•"Gaunt" old brutes that had hunted fox 
Back in the days when Noah was a lad, 
Touched in the bellows and gone at the hocks — 

Hounds he'd stole from a Harrier pack. 
Hounds he'd borrowed an' begged an' found, 
Grey an' yellow an' tan an' black, 
Every conceivable kind o' hound. 

He called them "harriers," and a few 
Were harriers — back when the world began — 
But they were n't particular where they drew 
An' they were n't particular what they ran. 

I mind him once of a bygone morn, 
Ruddy an' round on his flea-bit horse, 
Twangin' a note on his battered horn 
An' cappin' them into the Frenchman gorse. 

They pushed a brown hare out of her form 
An' swung on her line with a crash of tongues: 
But a vixen crossed an' her scent was warm. 
So they ran her, screechin' to burst their lungs. 

They ran her into my lord's demesne, 
Where my lady's fallows were grazing free; 
They picked a stag and followed again, 
Singing like souls in ecstasy. 

They chased the stag up over the ridge 
With lolling tongues an' with heaving flanks; 
They lost him down by the Cluddah bridge, 
But killed an otter on Cluddah's banks. 

They had no shape an' they had no style; 
Their manners were bad and their morals slack; 
They were noisy, but wonderful versatile, 
Andy Hartigan's bobbery pack. 



48 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

But, unlike Andy Hartigan's, this mixture of blood and 
color stuck to their original quarry, and going away, like 
the proverbial "bat out of hell," from William Evans's 
meadow, raced across the White Horse Farm to Mr. Yar- 
nall's, around his new house and out to the covered bridge. 
Crossing the Goshen Road into Dr. Stengle's, they sank 
the vale into Shrimer's Clearing, on up-country to Dutton's 
Mill, to Miss Hook's, swinging right-handed into the Bryn 
Clovis Dairy Farm, and on to Cathcart's Rocks, where 
some of us thought he went to earth; but, if he did, he 
pushed another fresh fox out for hounds, for, after a mo- 
ment's check, they sailed on across the Seventy-Six Farm, 
to Lockwood's, Mr. Pepper's, Dr. White's, and back to 
Yarnall's, v/here, at a check by the bridge, the straggling 
hounds caught up. Horace Hare made a forward cast over 
the road; hounds opened up to the line at once and took 
us up-country again to Delchester, where scent failed. 

Out of a field of fifty at the start, only ten survived the 
day. Accidents were numerous, but not serious. Miss 
Rulon Miller turned a corner too fast, back of Dutton's 
Mill, and went down; Mrs. FrazierHarrison'ssaddle turned, 
and she came to grief; Gerry Leiper's horse fell on the 
Sugartown Road; and Charlie Munn took a beautiful fall, 
somewhere, I can't remember the exact spot. 

Those at the end were: Horace Hare, M.F.H.; Ned and 
Miss Dougherty; Harry Barclay; Fred Sturges; Lemuel 
Altemus; Sam Kirk; Walter Stokes; and Gerry Leiper. 

Tuesday, 2yd March, 1915 
Another hunting season closed to-day with a most fitting 
ending. Hounds ran an hour and fifty-five minutes, with 
only one check, and that of only four minutes, covering 
quite nineteen miles and taking us clear out of our country. 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 49 

It adds so much to a run if hounds take one out of one's 
own country; especially, if it's the last run of the season, 
then you have something a little bit better than the other 
good days to think about all during the summer months, 
or until about the middle of July, when you bring your 
horses in from grass and begin to think about cubbing. 

At the invitation of Samuel Kirk, Radnor and Serrill's 
hounds met with his hounds at Kirk's farm, at ten-thirty, 
and found immediately just outside Kirk's wood; the forty- 
two and one half couples going away at a racing clip to the 
Edgemont Road, into John Converse's farm and on to 
Pratt's wood, where some one viewed the fox crossing the 
road into Delchester. Hounds ran straight across the big 
Delchester fields into Button's Mill, where they turned 
sharply left-handed, going back to the edge of Delchester, 
where a fresh fox, a vixen, jumped up right in front of the 
pack and went to earth in the next field. The hunted fox 
was viewed crossing the West Chester Pike at the Street 
Road. Will Leverton lifted hounds to the view, when they 
owned the line at once, running with a good scent through 
Greenbriar Thicket, and, sinking the valley, took us up- 
country for a couple of miles, over a lovely bit of country, 
nearly to Westtown; but, keeping it on their right, hounds 
turned left again and, going entirely out of our country, 
crossed the Chester Creek at Locksley Station, then up the 
hill and straight on southeast to the House of Refuge, 
making a big circle through some stone quarries, crossed a 
high railroad embankment that was a mean one to ride 
down, and on to Markham, where they swung a bit left- 
handed to Concordville, and, racing down a beautiful long 
meadow with the fox continually in view, hounds only 
just back of him, it looked as if Reynard would lose 
his brush for certain; but he gave hounds the slip, put them 



so RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

to their noses again, and, on reaching a hilltop, we could 
see our fox, barely able to crawl, being chased by a man 
only two fields ahead of hounds. A friendly lane here gave 
us a short cut, and, on galloping up, instead of finding 
hounds worrying their fox, we found the aforementioned 
man standing up in a motor in front of the Chester 
Heights Church, holding the fox by the back of its neck, 
with the forty-two and one half couples of hounds giving 
him a very nervous time. Will Leverton and Sam Kirk 
soon relieved his anxiety, and we started a long fourteen 
miles back home via Sycamore Mills. 

We were so far out of our own country at one time that 
not one of the field knew where we were; but on coming on 
to a road I saw a sign-post, marking the Pennsylvania and 
Delaware boundary. We went a couple of miles farther 
south from this point, so were well within the Delaware 
State lines. 

All that were left out of a field of over fifty, were: 
John R. Valentine, ex-M.F.H., of Radnor; Fred Sturges 
on "Cheavau"; Nelson Buckley on "Ruskin"; Ned 
Dougherty; Miss Ruth Wood on the little grey Arab; 
Grafton Pyne, of New York; Lehrman Stuart, of Balti- 
more; Gerry Leiper; Sam Pinkerton, Rose Tree's ex-hunts- 
man; Dr. Evans following along the roads in a motor; and 
Dr. Edgar Powell on a chestnut three-year-old. 



SEASON OF 1915-1916 



SEASON OF 1915-1916 

A GOOD many years ago, some one said — "A pack of hounds 
was never successfully hunted by a Committee." It's been 
tried lots of times, not only here at Radnor, but in other 
places, so when Horace Hare resigned the Mastership, and 
a Hunt Committee was elected at the Annual Meeting, 
there were many misgivings, until Benjamin Chew was 
elected Master in the spring of 191 5. He had the happy 
faculty of imbuing new life and enthusiasm in the Radnor 
foxhunters, besides which, by his efforts, the much-needed 
improvements to the Club House were accomplished, the 
kennels and stables done over, everything painted, and 
our previous steward, Louis Meimbresse, reinstated when 
the alterations were completed. 

Cubbing started August loth, at 5 a.m. from the ken- 
nels; Will Leverton hunting the bitch pack of twenty cou- 
ples, including the young lady entry, with Harry Brown as 
whipper-in. Only four of us turned up at the meet, Ben 
Chew, M.F.H., William E. Carter, and William, Jr. We 
were all delighted the way the young hounds entered to 
their work, and went home to breakfast that morning 
with that wonderful feeling that another hunting season 
had started, and started well. 

Cubs and foxes were very plentiful, hounds giving us 
some splendid mornings right on through to the opening of 
the regular season. 

On August 1 8th, I had my first day with Plunket 
Stewart's new Cheshire hounds, which met on the lawn at 
five-thirty and found a good running cub, just back of the 
kennels, that gave us a very satisfactory morning of two 



54 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

hours and a half, and, when we pulled out at eight o'clock, 
hounds were still going. I had a very nice ride on a mare 
named "Rapacious," that afterwards was raced with some 
success by Antelo Devereux. 

Saturday, ^th December, 1915 
That very good friend of Radnor, Sam Kirk, gave another 
of his celebrated breakfasts at his farm at White Horse; 
hounds meeting at eleven o'clock with both Kirk's and 
Radnor hounds in the stable-yard. 

They found almost immediately, going away towards 
White Horse, with a field of over eighty that seemed a bit 
unruly at first, but at the pace hounds set, things were not 
congested long. Hounds checked a moment in John Con- 
verse's farm, then raced on into Delchester, where Alec 
Brown and Henry Collins came to grief over a big fence 
out of the orchard, and where hounds marked their fox to 
ground. 

William Evans had a fall over a wire fence back of the 
little schoolhouse and cut his horse's leg quite badly. 

Two foxes went out of the main Delchester covert at the 
next draw, hounds settling on the line of one that took 
them back to White Horse, through Fairy Hill to the 
Klemm Farm, and on to ground in the Malvern Barrens. 
Another fox was found in the Barrens, hounds pushing him 
out the lower side, where we viewed him pointing towards 
the big earth on the Disston property. Fred Sturges gal- 
loped to the earth and kept the fox from going under. Rey- 
nard then started down-country, but, keeping the White 
Horse Farms on his left, made for Evans's meadow, then 
on to Fairy Hill, through the cemetery, across the road, 
and, turning right-handed at the back of the Penn Tavern, 
hounds pushed him to earth also in Delchester, after a very 




Fhotograph by Reihj fir Way 

BENJAMIN CHEW, ESQ., M.F.H. ON " OVIAT " 

J. STANLEY REEVE, ESQ.., ON " POACHER" 

At the opening meet of the Season at Happy Creek Farms, October 30, 191 5 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL ^^ 

fast eighteen minutes, and after which they were taken 
home. 

Some of those out were: Sam Kirk, M.F.H.; Benjamin 
Chew, M.F.H., on "Oviat"; Miss Ellen Mary Cassatt on 
"Greymaster"; Miss Rose Dolan on "Circus"; Miss Ruth 
Wood; Mrs. Victor C. Mather; Antelo and Mrs. Dever- 
eux; Dave and Mrs. Sharp; Paul and Mrs. Mills; Charlie 
and Mrs. Munn; Bob and Mrs. Strawbridge; Fred and 
Mrs. Sturges; Lawrence Bodine; Louis S. Fiske; W. M. 
Kerr; Ned Blabon; Harry Harrison; Walter and Lowber 
Stokes; Miss Fox; Mr. Beale; Lem Altemus; Mrs. C. R. 
Snowden; Alec Brown; Hinckle Smith; and Frank Lloyd. 

Sunday, I2th December, 19 15 
If it had n't snowed, what a sporting tour we would have 
had! And as it turned out, we had a real time, but of a dif- 
ferent sort than anticipated. 

Through the courtesy of Charles E. Mather, Esq., 
M.F.H. of the Brandywine, and W. Plunket Stewart, Esq., 
M.F.H. Cheshire, the Radnor hounds, Benjamin Chew, 
Esq., M.F.H., were invited to hunt the Cheshire country 
on Tuesday, the 14th, and the Radnor field invited to hunt 
with the Cheshire hounds on Monday, the 13th, and with 
the Brandywine at Marshallton, on Wednesday, the 14th. 

In order to get a good start for the week, Mr. Mather in- 
vited the Radnor beagles, Clarence H. Clarke, III, Esq., 
M.B.H., to meet at his Brandywine Meadows Farm on Sun- 
day, at three o'clock. So after a luncheon that was much too 
delicious and big to run on, a field of twenty-five trailed 
along after the pack, and, in going into the first field across 
the road, a rabbit was viewed away right in front of hounds, 
but a patch of briars saved his skin, and, after a short walk 
to a hilltop, the beagles went away like a pack of fox 



56 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

hounds, giving beautiful tongue, and, swinging right- 
handed, crossed a swamp on the ice and made a mile and a 
half point before turning, and finally brought us nearly- 
back to the find. The Jelly Dogs ran the legs off almost 
the entire field, only seven of us going to the bitter end, and 
we were about all in. "Buzzy" Smith was hunting the 
hounds, and, as we were jogging down a road with very 
high banks on either side, we heard a crushing noise, and a 
dark object landed head-first in a bush along the roadside. 
It picked itself up, and turned out to be Charlie Da Costa, 
none the worse for wear. Next Miss "Letty" McKeim fell 
in a brook; the water was cold, but felt good, I guess, for 
she stayed on with us, being the only surviving lady; the 
rest of our first flight being Ben Chew, Plunket Stewart, 
and Gilbert Mather. It was evidently a fox's line, and not 
a rabbit, the beagles were running. 

Tea, with something in it, tasted pretty good when we 
finally came in and joined the rest of the field who had 
fizzed out at varying stages in the run, among them being: 
the Misses Josephine and Dorothy Mather; Mrs. Reeve; 
Mrs. Chew; Prince Paul Troubetzkoy; Victor and Mrs. 
Mather; R. Penn Smith; Williams and Mrs. Cadwallader; 
and Mrs. John Converse. 

After tea we motored to Chesterland, where Plunket 
Stewart was to be our host for the remainder of the week; 
the party consisting of Messrs. Stewart, Devereux, Chew, 
Kerr, Lloyd, and Reeve. 

After seeing that the Radnor hounds and the forty- 
seven horses that came up from the Radnor country had 
arrived, and giving strict orders to the very accommodat- 
ing proprietor of the Unionville Hotel, Mr. Newlin, where 
our horses were stabled, that no groom was to be sold enough 
liquor to make him drunk, and after filling up a few cracks 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 57 

in the side of the stable with straw, we decided to get a 
good night's sleep, so as to be in fine trim for the morrow. 

We were in good trim when the morning came, but sadly 
out of luck as regards the weather, for it was snowing hard, 
blowing a gale, and cold as the North Pole. Mrs. Howard 
Henry telephoned, just as we were getting up, to know what 
the weather was like with us, so we told her to come on 
over, and she did, motoring forty-five miles from Camp 
Hill in the storm and wrecking her car on a rock at the 
gateway. By ten o'clock we had a fine party in the makings 
and it made out splendidly all day and part of it all night. 

Nelson Buckley and Chris Hagen came from the hotel 
where they were stopping; Miss Rose Dolan motored over, 
bringing Miss Hopkins, John Tucker, and " Buzzy " Smith; 
Victor and Mrs. Mather and Miss Josephine Mather came 
from Brandy wine; Drexel Paul and Frank Lloyd also 
arrived; altogether Plunket had a party of nineteen for 
lunch, with everybody hungry and thirsty, and, as is 
always the case with our host, there was food and drink 
for all. 

Ben Chew and I walked through the snow to Union- 
ville in the afternoon to have a look at the horses. Of the 
others, some slept, some ate, and some drank; but all were 
merry, whichever of the three they were doing. Towards 
evening, Mr. B,, waking up and seeing Mr. C. asleep by 
the fire, with a tall glass by his elbow, said, "Now's my 
chance to tell C. what I think of him! C, you are a pink- 
wissered scoundrel; but, if you were awake, I'd call you a 
gentleman." Some one said, "A pink what.''" and he an- 
swered, "Wissered, wissered, damn it! Don't you know 
what wissers are?" He was quickly given another, and 
went peacefully to sleep again. But his name was "Wis- 
sers" the rest of the visit. 



58 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

Those who had motored from a distance had a bad time 
getting home, some of the cars spending the rest of the week 
at Unionville. By Tuesday morning all the roads were 
blocked with snow, and the country impossible to hunt, so 
we decided to try to get home. Nelson Buckley said his old 
Simplex car could go across country, so we started out for 
Kennett Square in it and caught a train to Philadelphia at 
noon; but the poor horses and hounds did n't fare so well, 
as it took them seven hours to do the twenty-five miles 
back to kennels through the snow. 

Speaking of Nelson Buckley reminds me of the story 
they tell of his first appearance with the Radnor hounds, 
a good many years ago, in Mr. Mather's regime. 

"Buck" appeared on the scene one fine morning, re- 
splendent in new scarlet and spotless leathers, and went 
up to Mr. Mather, who was standing on the Club House 
steps, and presented him with a supposed letter of intro- 
duction, saying, "I am Mr. Buckley, of Erdenheim." Mr. 
Mather, in his usual, most hospitable manner, just glanced 
at the note and told "Mr. Buckley, of Erdenheim," how 
delighted he was to welcome him to Radnor, etc. 

Hounds moved off; the business of the day absorbed the 
M.F.H., and it was not until he was at home that evening 
that he re-read the note "Buck" had given him, which 
ran something like this: 

My dear Mr. Mather: 

This will introduce to you my very dear friend, Mr. 
Buckley, of Erdenheim, an ardent foxhunter and sports- 
man of the highest type; and I trust you will extend to him 
the hospitalities (both liquid and otherwise) of the Rad- 
nor Hunt. 

(Signed) R. Nelson Buckley 





# 




b 






i 


vv 


■i' *''4|i 





Photographhy Harry s 1 i 

MRS. HOWARD H. HENRY AND MRS. A. J. A. DEVEREUX 
At the Bryn Mawr Horse Show, 1920 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 59 

Needless to say, the story was too good to be kept 
secret, and "Buck" was the recipient of a good deal of 
ragging, until one day, some weeks later, at about that 
hour when the sun passes over the yardarm, and Mr. 
Buckley, of Erdenheim, was modestly boasting of some 
of his exploits, conquests, or whatever may be the most 
polite term, it was unanimously decided to perform a 
slight operation on him. On being laid out on the impro- 
vised operating-table, it was discovered that he had an 
unusually large roll of money in his breeches* pocket. 
Therefore, the self-appointed surgeons appropriated the 
money as their just fees. 

Upon the recovery of the patient, some one suggested 
it was a charity case, so the money was returned at once. 

No one had counted the money; no one knew how much 
they had taken; but each gave back a handful of bills. 
But the patient that night, on reaching home, proceeded 
to count his wealth, and found, much to his surprise, that 
he was forty-seven dollars richer than before. 

Saturday, 8th January, 1916 
Mr. Jorrocks once said, "There's nothing so queer as 
scent, 'cept a woman." Ask any Master of hounds. He 
may not agree with you about the ladies; but it's a hun- 
dred to one shot that he will about scent. 

For the past fortnight there has been no scent at all; 
foxes have been going away right in front of hounds, and 
they have n't been able to do a thing. But everything 
changed to-day, and conditions were certainly not favor- 
able either, as the thermometer stood at 13° when my 
horse left home at eight-thirty for the meet at Goshen 
School. 

However, our first fox was pushed out of the Hershey 



6o RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

Mill covert, Harry Harrison and I viewing him crossing 
the King Road; and being afraid of being caught by the 
Master in a place we should not have been, we rode into 
the wood to hide until the field came along, when we 
trailed in behind as innocent as lambs. 

Even though this fox did n't give hounds much to do, 
as they lost him back of the Brown Field, our consciences 
were clear, as they had taken him about five minutes be- 
yond where we had met him face to face. 

Working down-country, a good fox went out of 
Malvern Barrens. Hounds checked a moment in the 
swamp, then went at a good clip through the Boyer Davis 
Farm to Evans's meadow, where Antelo Devereux had 
quite a fall, and on to Cathcart's Rocks, but, keeping it on 
their left, came back over Mr. Cuyler's hill to his back 
lane, where a screaming big new four-rail fence at the foot 
of a steep hill made every one sit up and take notice. The 
ground was covered with ice and it did n't look good to 
any one, until Will Leverton said, "Well, I must get to 
my hounds." He sailed at it; the take-off was bad and his 
horse slipped, and, fortunately, for the rest of us, broke it 
down. Hounds swung left-handed just over the brook, 
came back across the f?rm and out to the White Horse 
Road, over the Red Bridge to Van Meeter's, through 
"Pick" Harrison's, and, keeping the Leopard hard to their 
left, crossed above Leiber's, on into the Rowland Comly 
Farm, where a fresh fox went out of covert with four 
couples on its line; but the hunted fox turned back, hounds 
taking us to Lockwood's Hollow, and on up-country to the 
White Horse Farm swimming-pool, where scent failed 
completely, hounds having given us an hour and twenty 
minutes of very satisfactory work. 

Those in the best of it were, besides the Master; Mr. 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 6i 

Beale; Bob and Mrs. Strawbridge; Harry W. Harrison; 
Dave and Mrs. Sharp; the Misses Dolan; Fred and Mrs. 
Sturges; Miss Hopper; Mr. Bodine; "Billy" Kerr; Harold 
Wilcox; Ben Holland; Clyde John; and "Pick" Harrison. 

Saturday, 5th February, 19 16 
"All the world loves a lover," and the M.F.H. sat on his 
horse "Oviat" and thought a moment, at the meet at 
White Horse, after "Bill" Evans told him of all he had 
seen this morning. 

It seems there was a vixen with three gentlemen friends 
in Evans's meadow, also the three gentlemen seemed a bit 
quarrelsome (no, not with the lady, but just among 
themselves). 

It was finally decided that the fair vixen might possibly 
spare us one of her gentlemen for the day, so the two packs 
(Kirk's hounds were meeting with Radnor), twenty- 
seven and a half couples in all, started in that direction, 
and sure enough there stood a fine big dog fox on the top 
of the hill. When he saw hounds, he swished his brush up 
and galloped off right-handed, but he must have taken 
extra pains with his toilet this morning, in anticipation of 
seeing his lady love, for he left no scent; hounds could do 
nothing with him at all. 

Then a second fox was viewed away, and hounds 
settled on his line immediately, carrying it up-country to 
the Malvern Barrens; but Mr. Fox still kept his girl in 
mind, for he turned in the Barrens and came back to 
Fairy Hill, ran through the covert and took us fairly flying 
back to Evans's meadow, made a bit of a circle there to 
look the situation over, and pointing his mask towards 
Cathcart's Rocks, but keeping it on his left, ran back to 
White Horse, on to the Meeting House, right-handed 



62 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

over the hill and back to the Barrens, where he again 
turned and was viewed, being coursed and nearly caught 
by one hound, the main body of the pack being a couple 
of fields behind. 

He took hounds once more to Evans's meadow (what a 
persistent lover he was!), then evidently decided to go to 
his home earth and wait for things to quiet down, for he 
swung up-country to Miss Hook's, crossed into the swamp, 
and, turning left-handed into Delchester, we viewed him 
again, and this time thought he had met an untimely end, 
for he came up over the brow of a hill face to face with two 
of Dr. Ashton's terriers. The terriers rolled him over, but 
he was up and at them and whipped them both, dis- 
appearing along the hillside. Hounds had checked a 
moment in the wood, but, on coming out, marked this gal- 
lant lover to earth in the next field. As he had given us a fair 
two hours and forty minutes, the Masters called it a day. 

Out of a field of fifty, there were left at the end only: 
the two Masters; Miss Eugenia Cassatt; Fred Sturges on 
"Pocono"; Mrs. Sturges on "Frosty"; Dave Sharp on a 
colt by "Master of Croft"; Mrs. Sharp on "Ovation"; 
Harry and Miss Barclay; Mr. Beale; Ben Holland on 
"Jim Bludso"; Lawrence Bodine; Clyde John; Lem 
Altemus; Harold Wilcox; Buck on the "Iron Woman"; 
Miss Margaret Hopper; Mr. Kerr on a big rangy thorough- 
bred bay; Henry and Mrs. Collins; and Miss Ellen Mary 
Cassatt, going brilliantly on her brother's "Greymaster." 

Saturday, 12th February, 19 16 
"Lincoln's Birthday" 

It was a pretty raw sort of morning when Alec Brown and 
I left home to motor to Marshallton to the joint meet of 
the Brandywine and Pickering. 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 63 

The roads were rough and we bumped along, cussing 
and discussing various things, but cheered up consider- 
ably on reaching the old inn at Marshall ton, for it was a 
lovely scene. Horses galore, and all the foxhunting frater- 
nity for miles around saying "how-de-do," and sizing up 
the two packs of hounds; Thompson, of the Brandy wine, 
putting down nineteen couples, and Roberts, of the Pick- 
ering, fifteen couples. 

I don't know that country well enough to describe a run 
in it; but a fox was viewed away from Mine Hill at eleven- 
ten, hounds making a couple of big circles through the 
McFadden Farms, crossing the Brandywine River at 
Straw's Bridge, and being continually right in front of 
hounds, who were kept to their noses all the time, gave us a 
good hunting run of two hours, finally bringing us back to 
Marshallton, just as it commenced to rain and sleet and 
blow a gale. 

Further hunting was out of the question, and Mr. 
Mather's hospitable house, a six-mile ride against the 
rain and sleet, with one's fingers nearly frozen in sopping 
string gloves; your knees decidedly on the damp side, 
and your flask empty, and so was the other fellow's, and 
not a hotel on the way. But Mr. Mather corrected all 
these minor details once Brandywine Meadows Farm was 
reached, and even if your boots did come off with a 
squelching kind of gurgle, like a cork being pulled out of a 
bottle, you really liked it and would n't have had it differ- 
ent for anything. Stewed chicken breasts with rice, and 
anything one may fancy that comes out of a bottle, com- 
bined with a big fire and congenial friends — well, it's 
hard to beat, that's all. 

John Valentine, Nelson Buckley, and a farmer's bov 
were the only casualties of the day, and "Buck" was the 



64 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

only one that really needed first aid. Miss Mather picked 
a few pebbles out of the back of his head and bandaged 
him up, and, after a hot drink, he was quite up to his 
usual form. Among the others were: the Master of Pick- 
ering and Mrs. Clothier; Miss Mather; Victor and Mrs. 
Mather; Mrs. Valentine on "Lone Ben"; Gilbert Mather; 
Miss Ellen Mary Cassatt on "Tango"; Plunket Stewart; 
Harry Harrison; Antelo Devereux; Eddie Dale; the Misses 
Hopkins; Alec Yarnall; Howard and Mrs. Henry; Mrs. 
Frank Bonsai, of Harford; Lehrman Stewart; and Dr. 
Bayard Keane. 

Saturday, iSth March, 1916 
With the mercury at 5°, one would hardly expect even a 
fair day, and not in one's wildest fancy — and fancies go 
pretty wild at times, mine do, anyway — would one ex- 
pect a real top-hole run. But we had it, and a good six- 
mile point to boot, with the ground as hard as nails; but 
you don't seem to mind that when once your blood is up, 
providing you have the sort of one between your knees 
that gives you the right feeling. 

There were only nine of us brave enough, or foolish 
enough, whichever way you like it, to go to the meet at 
Sugartown: Ben Chew on "Oviat"; Gardner Cassatt on 
"Greymaster"; Miss Cassatt on "Tango"; Lawrence 
Bodine; Miss Betty Sinnickson on "Uncle Joe"; Miss 
Ruth Wood; Emlen Wood on a chestnut stallion; Ben 
Holland on Horace Hare's "Jim Bludso"; and Arthur 
Dickson on a dun, who had quite a serious fall just at the 
end of the first run. 

The Malvern Barrens again produced a good stout- 
running fox that went away from the lower end of covert, 
hounds setting a good pace to the Disston Swamp, where 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 65 

they checked a moment, then on to Mr. Coxe's, and 
through to Waynesboro, and running hard by the leopard 
to the Wendel property, where we viewed our fox pointing 
back toward Cathcart's Rocks; but, keeping the Rocks on 
their left, hounds ran a beautiful line through the Seventy- 
Six Farm to Lockwood's Hollow and on to Rowland 
Comly's, where we viewed again before crossing into the 
Happy Creek Meadows, when hounds took us to Mr. 
John Brown's and gave it up just below the Old Mill. 

No one had suffered from the cold so far, so the Master 
decided to try for one "supposed" to be at the Stokes 
Farm. He was there, and went out through the wood to 
the West Chester Pike. Having cast a front shoe, I made 
up my mind that if hounds ran down-country I'd take a 
chance of staying somewhere near them, but on reaching 
the Pike, they turned up-country, so I pulled out and 
rode down the Pike with Harold Wilcox to the Square, 
where some excellent port kept us warm until we reached 
the kennels. Hounds, I hear, ran on from Castle Rock to 
Green Briar and to earth in the Malvern Barrens. 

Thursday, 2yd March, 1916 
After meeting at the kennels at one o'clock, and drawing 
the country blank as far as Mr. Charlton Yarnall's, hounds 
finally found a fox at home. He was a circling beggar, but 
gave us an hour and forty-three minutes of fairly fast work, 
with the going in that condition when horses are on top of 
the ground in one stride and in up to their bellies the next. 
However, no one went down, but we were all pretty near 
it a number of times. 

It was half-past four when hounds first spoke to the line 
in the Yarnall Meadow, and coming down the creek crossed 
through Dr. White's to Innes's Wood, to Calvert's and 



ee RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

over the Leopard Road to Mrs. McGovern's, when they 
crossed the Harrison Meadows and, circling the farm 
buildings, ran through the wood along the Creek Road, up 
the Happy Creek drive and, sinking the vale with a beau- 
tiful scent and cry, ran to Lockwood's Hollow, on to the 
Red Iron Bridge, then, turning sharply, came back down- 
country over pretty much the same line to Mr. John 
Brown's, marking their fox to ground at the celebrated 
drain in that lovely stretch of turf. 

Only six of us stayed out long enough to get the run — 
the Master on "Styx"; Plunket Stewart on Horace Hare's 
"Plainsman"; Buck; and Gerry and Mrs. Leiper. 

Saturday, 26th March, 1916 
The season is over, finished to-day in quite good style; and 
now for other pleasures afield, but with one's thoughts con- 
tinually harking back to the good horses that have carried 
one, and who, in my humble opinion, have enjoyed the 
sport equally as much as have the somewhat bumpy bur- 
dens they have so patiently carried on their back. As for 
the hounds, we know they enjoy it, or they would n't run 
as well as they do; and, besides, don't they actually tell 
one so, every time they get a whiff of a good fox's line? 

And even if most of the hounds have nothing to do all 
summer but lie around in the shade and maybe be taken 
for a swim about four o'clock in the afternoon, there are 
some of the ladies of the pack that have quite strenuous 
domestic duties to perform. But it's all in a lifetime, and 
I 'm sure they all enjoy it. 

But I 've overrun the line a bit, and, to get to the bus- 
iness of the moment, hounds met this morning at ten 
o'clock at White Horse, found in Pratt's Wood, ran with a 
burning scent across to the far side of Delchester, circled 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 67 

back to Fronfield's Corner, where our fox was viewed. 
Hounds running parallel to the road swung left-handed 
back to and across the Delchester Dam, up the far hill- 
side to a welcome check at the top, where we had a mo- 
ment to breathe, as the soft going had taken a good deal of 
the steam out of the horses. 

Will Leverton cast hounds left-handed, when they went 
away at once, crossing the peach orchard and, keeping 
White Horse on their right, checked a moment at the 
Meeting House, crossed the road into Emlen Wood's 
meadow and raced on uj>-country to Evans's Wood, then 
bearing left-handed, again crossed into the meadow back of 
the Klemm Farm, on up the old railroad embankment and 
into the Malvern Barrens, where hounds pushed their fox 
through the covert and out the lower end, going at great 
pace back through the Bryn Clovis Dairy to Pratt's and on 
to Delchester, where Charles, undoubtedly, went to earth, 
but hounds did not mark him under. 

There was a fairly good field out for this, the last day of 
the season, including, besides the Master: John R. Valen- 
tine, M.F.H. Harford County, on "Apperley," and Mrs. 
Valentine on "Lone Ben"; Dick and Walter Stokes; Harry 
Barclay; Lawrence Bodine; Gerry and Mrs. Leiper; Ben 
Holland on a grey; Miss Ellen Mary Cassatt; Henry and 
Mrs. Collins; Sam Kirk; Gardner Cassatt on "Greymas- 
ter"; Lem Altemus; Miss Sinnickson on "Uncle Joe"; Mr. 
Wilbur on "Champagne"; Fred Sturges on "Cheavaux," 
and Mrs. Sturges on the faithful "Frosty"; Mrs. Dave 
Sharp, going brilliantly on a "Master of Craft" four-year- 
old; Miss Ruth Wood on a big brown horse; Miss Hopper; 
and our old friend Buck on "Ruskin," and three girls from 
Bryn Mawr College on three screws they jobbed from some 
livery stable. 



68 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

Saturday, 22nd April, 19 16 
Mrs. Harry W. Harrison very kindly gave the cup 
that was run for to-day at Happy Creek Farms, under the 
auspices of the Radnor Hunt. 

It had been many years since Radnor had a spring meet- 
ing, and, although the race was well filled, twelve starters 
to be exact, there was only a small gallery on hand to see 
them off. It was a very pretty race all through, and with 
plenty of excitement to suit those of morbid tastes. 

Antelo Devereux's "Earl Senff," with the owner up, fell 
at the fourth jump; then Victor Mather's saddle turned, 
putting his " Pocopson " out of the running. Bill Clothier's 
"Impulsive," with Gerry Leiper riding, went down at the 
big fence in the meadow; and Welsh Strawbridge, who 
looked like a winner, took "River Breeze'* outside the 
flags] and fell at the second jump from home, leaving 
Nelson Buckley's good horse, "Ruskin," ridden by John 
Bosley, Jr., of Baltimore, without a real competitor. " Bint " 
Toland's"Sam Ball," with Eddie Cheston up, ran second; 
the other "also rans" being E. B. Morris, Jr.'s "Flurry 
Knox"; Robert Glendinning's " Mill Work," "Truthful," 
owned and ridden by Julian Biddle; "Wild Irishman," 
Colonel Livingston; and W. H. Mulford's "Grasshopper." 



SEASON OF 1916-1917 



SEASON OF 1916-1917 

CUBBING 

Fortunate, indeed, is the Master of Hounds who has a 
good scenting cubbing season, plenty of cubs to rattle 
about, and a keen young entry of hounds. 

Benjamin Chew, M.F.H., had all of these in the Autumn 
of 1 91 6, and the prospects for a good season's sport were 
never brighter. 

Scent kept top-hole until towards the middle of No- 
vember when a dry spell put hounds to their noses for a 
few weeks. 

My first morning with hounds this season was August 
19th, in that lovely Cheshire country with W. Plunket 
Stewart, M.F.H. As we finished our coffee at five o'clock, 
the Cheshire English bitches and five and one half couples 
of half-bred young entry appeared coming up that stately 
avenue of old pines. We jogged around the road to Webb's 
Wood, and hounds were no sooner in cover than we saw a 
beautiful cub leaping over the tall grass and pointing to- 
wards Chesterland. Then there was a burst of music that 
told us everything was all right, and we sat on a little 
knoll and watched hounds and cub make several big cir- 
cles around us, finally marking him to ground in his home 
covert, in fifty-five minutes. Even the most fastidious 
could not have asked for a more satisfactory opening of a 
cubbing season; and as we rode back to kennels, the Master 
on " Moonshine," Nelson Duckley on " Mirana," " Buzzy " 
Smith on " Sir Astro," Mr. Kerr on a big chestnut thorough- 
bred, and your humble servant on John Fell's " Sandy 



72 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

Run," we were a very contented, self-satisfied, and smil- 
ing lot. 

On August 2ist, Ben Chew, M.F.H., opened the Rad- 
nor cubbing season with the bitch pack and all the young 
entry. It was a warm, sultry sort of morning as I left my 
stable at four-thirty, and quite too dark to find my hole in 
the hedge to make a short cut out to the road, so, leaving 
the navigation to my good horse "Poacher" until a few 
faint rays of the morning sun enabled me to see, we finally 
arrived at the kennels just as Will Leverton sounded a note 
on his horn and hounds came streaming out the wide doors 
to him. There were only five of us, including the Master on 
"Oviat," David S. B. Chew on "Killrush," and Harry 
Brown, first whipper-in, on "Marie." 

The Norris cornfield produced a cub at once, hounds 
opening to the line with a roar that must have made the 
blood in a late-sleeping neighbor's veins tingle, if such a 
thing is possible. 

Our cub broke from the cornfield, came around back of 
the farm buildings and jumped down the ha-ha into the 
road and up the other bank, giving us a splendid view. 
Hounds were right on his brush, and, pushing him over the 
hill, through the wood, and back to the cornfield again, 
they swung right-handed across the Hospital Farm, finally 
marking him under in the railroad embankment near the 
bridge. 

A THICK blanket of fog settled down just as hounds found 
at the Chimney Corner at five-fifteen on the morning 
of August 26th. They ran for forty minutes around the 
Brookthorpe Farm, marking their fox to earth on the 
Marple Road; but as Nelson Buckley said as we were hack- 
ing back to Boggestowe House for breakfast, "We had a 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 73 

fine run, a lot of music, and accounted for our fox, but 
I never saw hounds at all.** 

September 4th, scent was poor with the Cheshire hounds, 
but they put one to earth at Brooklawn and killed another 
after a short burst of about ten minutes, giving us a bit 
of a gallop and an appetite for breakfast. There were only 
five of us out — the Master, Bob Strawbridge, Paul D. 
Mills, and Mr. Kerr. 

On Thursday, 7th September, the Radnor found a cub in 

Mr. Ellis's cornfield, hounds marking him in a drain on 

Bryn Mawr Avenue. After being bolted by the terriers, 

"Rags" and "Sting," hounds rolled him over on the bank 

of the Ithan Creek. My youngest son, Lawrence, age four, 

who was out on a pony on a lead, fell off just as he reached 

the kill, but was nevertheless successfully blooded by Will 

Leverton 1 

Saturday, 2ist October, 1916 

It is true to say of foxhunting, as of most sports, that "It 
is the pace that kills." I think it is a remark more true of 
foxhunting than any other sport. Certainly it is the pace 
which kills foxes. 

We have all seen foxes killed — yes, lots of 'em — but 
I venture to say that any one of us, in any one season, can 
count on the fingers of one hand the foxes he has seen 
rolled over. By this I mean full-grown, native foxes, not 
cubs or bagged fellows. But here I am again, preaching a 
sermon, instead of getting down to the business of the day. 

Hounds met this morning at White Horse at six-thirty, 
with a field of twenty-six out (a pretty good number for so 
early in the morning, so far up-country); the Master put- 
ting down a mixed pack of eighteen couples, ten and one 



74 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

half couples of dogs and seven and one half of bitches. 
Hounds picked up a cold line in the Boyer Davis meadow, 
working it very, very slowly into Harry Disston's swamp, 
where Will Leverton, huntsman, went into the swamp on 
foot, and, while he was off his horse, some one viewed our 
fox out the north end. Hounds, owning it at once and 
carrying it with beautiful voice into the lower end of the 
Barrens, checked a moment, when three foxes went out 
of covert in different directions, but a backward cast set 
them on the hunted fox, and, coming back to Disston's, 
went through the covert, keeping Mr. Alex. Coxe's on 
their right, fairly flew out to the State Road; crossing at 
the schoolhouse, they ran to the wood surrounding the 
Coxe house, where a farmhand viewed our fox going down 
the drive. Hounds checked a moment, but Will Leverton 
put them right immediately, and, crossing a bit of nice 
grass, took us over the State Road again and incidentally 
over four or five nice worm fences, one right after the other, 
until we came to the Barrens again. But Reynard was too 
hard-pressed to tarry there, so, racing out the upper end, 
hounds bore right-handed through the Rush Hospital on 
across the road, and, running with a breast-high scent, it 
looked as if we were going to Hershey's Mill; but hounds 
pulled their fox down in the wood on top of the hill, just 
after crossing the Pike, in an hour and thirty-five minutes 
of very brilliant work. Ben Chew was congratulated by 
every one, and he certainly deserved it. 

Among those out, besides the Master, were: Bob and 
Mrs. Strawbridge; Mrs. Snowden, going in great style on 
"Able"; Miss Cassatt and Miss Eugenia Cassatt; Paul and 
Mrs. Mills; Charlie Munn; Monroe Robinson, who said 
it was the best run he had ever seen; Lowber and Walter 
Stokes; Frank Lloyd on "Sherry"; Dave Sharp on a 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 75 

"Boarder"; Harry Barclay; Ben Holland on "Jim"; Miss 
Barclay on "Sandy"; Mrs. Antelo Devereux, who was 
given the brush; Horace Hare on "Plainsman"; and 
Arthur and Mrs. Dickson. 

Most of us met again in the afternoon at the Rose Tree 
Races, which were quite above par. 

30^^ September, 19 16 
Horse and Hound Show Week at Bryn Mawr, always 
more or less strenuous, was quite up to its usual form this 
year; and with parties every night and cub hunting and 
beagle trials at daybreak, the hours of sleep the hunting 
fraternity had during the week could nearly be counted on 
one's fingers. 

Mr. Ellis's breakfast after the beagle trials at his Fox 
Hill Farm was a great success; but the real event of the 
week was the dinner dance given by Mr. and Mrs. Valentine 
at their Cafe au Concourse Hippique, at Highland Farm. 

In addition to the beautiful dancing girls, to entertain 
the guests, was a wrestling bear. After the bear had done 
its turn with its keeper, and had been put safely away in the 
cellar, it was unanimously decided that John Rush Street, 
of Harford County, should wrestle with it, so amid much 
hilarity the bear was brought up from the cellar again. 
The bear stood upon his hind legs sparring with Rush 
a few moments, and then they clinched. Everything was 
apparently going according to the Marquis of Queensberry 
rules until Rush hit the bear below the belt. This foul 
evidently escaped the notice of Foxhall Keene, the referee, 
but not Mr. Bear, for he immediately tightened his hold on 
Rush, who suddenly became very pale, but was at once 
rescued from the bear's loving embrace by its keeper. Need- 
less to say, after that, no one else volunteered. 



76 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

Tuesday, 24th October, 19 16 
Alexander Brown, one of the very best of our all-too- 
few all-round sportsmen, was unfortunately drowned to- 
day in the Delaware River off Essington, when the hydro- 
plane in which he was flying, while endeavoring to qualify 
for a pilot's license, fell into the water. 

It was hard to say whether he was more distinguished for 
his hunting, racing, or his polo. 

In hunting he was always with hounds and had been a 
liberal and loyal supporter of Radnor for many years. In 
racing, his horse " Pebbles " was probably his best, winning, 
among other things, the much-coveted Maryland Hunt 
Cup. He was a five-goal man at polo and one of the main 
standbys of the old Bryn Mawr team, and one that could 
always be relied upon to do his bit and do it to the best of 
his ability. 

Saturday, litk November, 1916 
After having been out with hounds for a couple of hours 
this morning, but before they had any kind of a run, Mr. 
Louis S. Fiske was fatally stricken in his motor on his way 
back to the kennels from Sugartown, and died before any 
medical aid could be obtained. 

One of Radnor's hardest riding and most popular men, 
he seemed in splendid health at the meet, and in fact not 
ten minutes before his chauflFeur found him unconscious, he 
had waved his hunting-crop out the door of his car at my 
two little sons who were motoring up-country with me. 

Monday, 20th November, 19 16 
After having hunted the Harford country a fortnight, A. 
Henry Higginson, Esq., M.F.H., Middlesex, was invited to 
hunt the Radnor country three days this week. His sixteen 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 77 

and one half couples of English hounds, including two cou- 
ples of Welsh hounds imported last year, were kennelled at 
Radnor, his horses at the Phillips stable near by, while my 
good wife and I had the honor of putting him up. 

The country had been very dry for the past two weeks 
and scenting conditions practically nil; but such is luck, 
and, sorry as we all were, we could n't help it. 

There was a representative field of seventy-five at White 
Horse this morning for the first Middlesex meet, Higginson 
hunting hounds himself, and turning his outfit out on 
greys, made a very smart appearance. He was riding "Lon- 
don Smoke" and had Will Leverton as pilot; but luck was 
against him, for he found Pratt's Wood, Delchester, But- 
ton's Mill, Miss Hook's, Fairy Hill, and Bryn Clovis all 
blank. Then a fox was viewed away from the meadow back 
of the Klemm Farm. Higginson lifted his hounds to the 
view, they owned it at once, and running with good voice, 
carried it up the meadows to an old hollow and dead chest- 
nut tree, where they marked their fox under. It was de- 
cided to smoke him out, and, after much waiting and specu- 
lation, Mrs. Paul Mills gave a splendid view holloa, and 
out ran a field mouse. No fox appeared, so hounds were 
taken over to the Barrens, while some of us stayed behind 
to watch the tree, and very soon Miss Gertrude deCoppet 
saw our fox peeping out. He made a break finally, pointing 
south. "Pick" Harrison went after hounds, and, Higgin- 
son galloping them back, capped them on, when they 
carried it back to the meadow where they had first found, 
and then gave it up. 

Among those out were: B. Chew, M.F.H.; Bob and Mrs. 
Strawbridge; Harry Harrison; Dave and Mrs. Sharp; Mrs. 
Mills; Mrs. Victor Mather; the Misses deCoppet, of New 
York; the Misses Cassatt; Fred and Mrs. Sturges; Ned 



78 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

Blabon; J. S. Wain; Ned Dougherty; Rowland Comly; 
Harry and Miss Barclay; Ben Holland; William Evans; 
Julian Biddle; Mrs. Devereux; Howard and Mrs. Henry; 
and Jack Potter, first whipper-in to the Brandywine. 

Wednesday, 22nd November, 1916 
After the rather disappointing day the Middlesex hounds 
had on Monday, our hopes for better scenting conditions 
to-day were not very high, as we left for the meet at Brom- 
all at nine o'clock. 

It was clear, dry, and dusty, and, to make matters 
worse, a faint, southerly wind; but a fair-sized field turned 
out. 

Higginson and his servants were on bays, as was Will 
Leverton to show him round. The first draw was Marsh's 
wood, below Bromall, where as usual the fox was viewed 
away over the meadows. Hounds opened to the line beau- 
tifully, carrying it on across the brook and over the road 
into Mullin's farm, where scent was very catchy, hounds 
working well, but slowly, on down Mullin's meadow into 
his wood, where instead of turning left-handed as usual, 
they went on through the wood and across the road into 
the State Farm, and on across the new cemetery property 
to a field north of the Eagle Road, where scent failed com- 
pletely. After a couple of casts, hounds were taken back 
into the Butler Farm, drawing the Leedom Mills Wood and 
on through to Moore's, and into Wild's wood, where the 
Middlesex second whipper-in holloaed another fox away. 

Hounds being lifted to the view, carried it over the Law- 
rence Road into Dr. Chamber's, and on to Marsh's wood, 
where our first find had been, but, owing to the extreme 
dryness, could do nothing further with it, and, after sev- 
eral fruitless casts, hounds were taken to McCullough's 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 79 

and on to the Larchmont Swamp, to the Radnor Barrens, 
and all around there, but nothing could be found, so were 
taken in. 

The country seemed too dry for hounds to do anything, 
especially after about ten o'clock. 

Among those out were: B. Chew, M.F.H.; M. R. Jack- 
son, M.F.H. Rose Tree; Bon and Mrs. Strawbridge; Harry 
Harrison; Miss G. deCoppet; Miss Ellen Mary Cassatt; 
Henry Collins; Emanuel Hey; Walter Roach; Walter Jef- 
fords; Mrs. Paul Mills; Wm. F. Reeve and son; Ned 
Dougherty; Nelson Buckley; Mrs. Victor Mather; and 
Mrs. A. J. A. Devereux. 

Thursday, 2^rd November, 1916 
As it had been a very stormy night, with a high wind, and 
in fact still raining in fits and starts, only a few of the more 
enthusiastic turned up at the meet; but as it was the first 
time in several weeks that one could say was a good scent- 
ing day, Alex. Higginson and I decided to go rain or shine. 
As it turned out, we were very glad we did, for hounds ran 
well for fifty-five minutes from William Evans's meadow, 
where we found at once, going away towards Boyer Davis's 
wood, turning left-handed, through the farm, on through 
the wood to a drain on Klemm's drive, where hounds marked 
their fox under. Klemm's farmer came out to see the excite- 
ment and, producing a long pole, pushed the fox out; hounds 
carrying him at a good pace through the swamp again, and 
back to the Davis Farm, when he turned left-handed, 
pointing his mask towards the Malvern Barrens, but was 
evidently headed, for he swung down-country, through the 
Disston Farm to the meadow at the lower end, then out 
to the Davis's gateway, where it looked for an instant as if 
he had gone into the drain; but a self-made cast by the 



8o RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

pack put them straight again and they flew down the mea- 
dow, on into Evans's pasture, where a very amusing inci- 
dent took place. Hounds were racing along with the small 
field right behind them, Will Leverton, the huntsman, out 
in front, when, on coming to the gate of the Evans meadow, 
Leverton, on "Slim Brown" very cleverly jumped it, so 
Fred Sturges set sail for it, too, with Ben Chew, M.F.H., 
calling out to him, "Don't jump that gate! Don't jump 
that gate!" But Fred went on, his horse "Grandma" hit- 
ting it with an awful crash, and not just breaking the top 
board, but breaking the gate all to pieces and quite beyond 
repair. 

Ben Chew was furious, and called out, "Sturges, that 
will cost you five dollars! Sturges, that will cost you five 
dollars!" 

Hounds threw up their noses at that moment, whether 
from fright or the sound of the crash, but, at any rate, long 
enough for Sturges to hand out the five dollars to the Mas- 
ter, while the field sat around and roared with laughter. 

Hounds went on in a moment, but shortly were at fault 
again in the wood in the hollow along the road. After sev- 
eral unsuccessful casts, the job was given up, and hounds 
moved off to fresh coverts, but nothing so good was done 
the rest of the day. 

The few out were: B. Chew, M.F.H.; A. Henry Higgin- 
son, M.F.H.; Harry W. Harrison; Mrs. Paul D. Mills; 
Fred and Mrs. Sturges; the Misses deCoppet of New York; 
Henry and Mrs. CoUins; and Ben Holland. 

Friday, 2^t}i November, 19 16 
Radnor having had a fair run yesterday, and conditions 
being greatly improved, owing to the rain, I feel that Hig- 
ginson should have been taken down-country after having 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 8i 

accounted for his first fox to-day, instead of up-country, 
where all the coverts had already been drawn twice before 
this week. 

However, Higginson is a sportsman of the first water 
and hunted where he was taken. 

He was riding " London Smoke " again, with his whippers- 
in on greys also, and Will Leverton on "Rugby," as pilot, 
the first draw being the Norris Wood. Hounds went on 
through it into the meadow along the creek and into Earle's 
spinney, when Harry Brown, the Radnor first whipper-in 
who was over across the creek on top of Howard's Hill, 
viewed a fox and holloaed him away. Hounds, being cast 
over the creek, picked up the line along the edge of the 
Earle drive, carrying it down the drive with a good deal of 
cry, and a catchy scent, until near the little lake at the foot 
of the hill, when they swung right-handed up the hill, over 
the grass and into the wood at the top at a good pace, to a 
slight check on the north side overlooking Yarnall's Hollow. 
Hounds then sank the valley bearing slightly left-handed 
and up the far side into the wood at the top, when they bore 
right-handed again through the wood road and on down the 
other hill into Tryon Lewis's swamp, then on into the north 
side of John Brown's, and we all had to gallop back to Mr. 
Brown's farm lane, getting even with hounds just as they 
came out into this lovely stretch of grass and galloping 
right alongside the pack, which was simply flying over the 
turf, perfectly packed and in full cry, on across to the drain 
on the back drive, where they marked him in. As it is im- 
possible to bolt foxes from this drain, hounds were cheered 
to it, thus ending a very good sixteen minutes, which put 
every one in a good humor. 

The next draw was Harrison's Meadows, and on up- 
country for several hours finding the coverts all blank. 



82 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

Charlie Morris, the Middlesex first whip, fell into a big 
open ditch, west of Cathcart's Rock, going clear under the 
slime with his horse on top of him, but fortunately coming 
out none the worse, except being covered with brown scum. 

The Radnor Hunt gave a luncheon for Higginson at the 
Club House at two o'clock, to which about fifty came and 
ate of the very good game-pie, etc., with hot toddy and the 
famous Radnor Yellow Port. 

Among those hunting and at the luncheon were: Ben 
Chew, M.F.H., and Mrs. Chew; A. Henry Higginson, 
M.F.H.; Jacob S. Wain; R. E. Strawbridge; Dave and 
Mrs. Sharp; the Misses Beatrice and Gertrude deCoppet; 
Fred and Mrs. Sturges; Edw. B. (Banker) Smith; Laurence 
Bodine; Lemuel C. Altemus; Edward F. Beale; Mrs. Paul 

D. Mills; Mrs. Howard H. Henry; Mrs. Reeve; Mrs. Dev- 
ereux; Mrs. Victor Mather; Harry W. Harrison; William 

E. Carter; Rowland Comly; Edwin L. Blabon; Edwin 
V. Dougherty; WycofF Smith; R. Nelson Buckley; and 
Horace B. Hare. 

Tuesday, 26th December, 19 16 
Folk may talk with pride of the pace of a run, and it's all 
very well at times, when the going is good and one has not 
dined too well the night before; but the uncertainty of 
foxhunting and the condition of one's nervous system are 
not by any means the least of the charms of a day with 
hounds. 

Take to-day as an example, the going quite as bad as 
even the Devil himself would have liked, and scent just 
poor and catchy enough to keep hounds working all the 
time. Suppose scent had been top-hole, where would the 
field have been? Sadly left behind. But, as it was, we 
were able to stay right alongside hounds for a couple of 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 83 

hours, have a lot of enjoyment, and perhaps, if one wants 
to, learn something of hound lore. Personally, I 'd rather 
have a run a little slow so that I could see a bit of hounds 
and their work, that lasted an hour or two, than a very 
fast twenty minutes, when practically one's whole atten- 
tion had to be devoted to navigating a stiff country. 
There's plenty who will not agree with me here, I know, 
but what a blessing we don't all think alike. 

The Radnor bitch pack met this morning at ten o'clock 
at Bromall, and, with the melting snow and ice, the pros- 
pects for a good day were not bright, to say the least, but 
scent was fair at times, good at times, and also very poor at 
times. Where the snow had melted or blown off, scent was 
wonderful, and the pack would work along slowly over a 
field of snow, then, on coming to a field quite bare of snow, 
would race away at top-speed, only to be brought to their 
noses again at the next place where there was snow. Hounds 
began to feather to a cold line on the eastern side of the 
State Farm, then opened up with a roar upon reaching a 
knoll that was clear of snow, and, keeping the Lamb Tav- 
ern on their left, crossed the Springfield Road into the new 
cemetery and on south to the edge of the wood, where they 
marked their fox under after sixteen minutes of very pretty 
hound work. 

The Master then giving instructions to draw towards 
McCullough's wood, hounds moved on, and almost imme- 
diately another fox was viewed away from the eastern side 
of the Clarke Thomson Farm, hounds settling on the line 
at once; carried it over the Ridley Creek, and, swinging 
right-handed up the meadow, below the Tunis house, took 
us out to the road over a barway of saplings that made 
horses really jump. Then on across the Hutchinson prop- 
erty and across the Paxon Hollow Road; turning back 



84 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

here, hounds ran to the hilltop just below the Rose Tree 
Club House, and, sinking the valley once more, took 
us back to practically where they found, and, turning 
again, came back to Dr. Hutchinson's, ran through the 
Benson covered bridge, and, making another big circle of 
the Rose Tree Hills, finally marking their fox to earth on 
the edge of the wood by the watering-trough above Palm- 
er's Mill. So far as I can remember, it is the only day 
this season at Radnor when there were no ladies out, the 
field being composed of the Master; Bob Strawbridge, 
on a very playful young chestnut, recently brought out 
from Ireland; Bob, Jr., home from Harvard for the holi- 
days; William T. Carter, on a grey, and also home for the 
holidays from Groton; and Nelson Buckley, 

Thursday, 4th January, 1917 
The last run I wrote about was one of the slow, nose-to- 
the-ground, hand-gallop sort, but to-day's was of exactly 
the opposite kind, with the ground frozen like iron and 
rough as possible. Hounds made a four-and-a-quarter- 
mile point and ran quite six miles in twenty-seven min- 
utes, marking their fox in Mr. John Brown's drain, after 
bringing him down from Wayne's Swamp without a check. 
Those of us getting it being: B. Chew, M.F.H., who 
turned upside down in jumping the fence out of the Happy 
Creek Meadow, but fortunately landed on his back in a 
snowdrift; Fred and Mrs. Sturges; Dave Sharp; Henry and 
Mrs. Collins; William Carter, Jr.; Ben Holland; Miss 
Margaret Hopper; Mrs. Snowden; and "Pick" Harrison. 

Tuesday, gth January, 19 17 
Scent — there's been so much written and said about it 
by really experienced hound men that a rank amateur like 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 85 

myself had better leave the subject alone; but, at any rate, 
it's seldom that every pack of hounds in a country have an 
exceptionally good run the same day. Once in a while you 
hear of it, but it's generally something like this — it's a 
non-hunting day, say Wednesday, and you are having 
luncheon at your club in town, at what George H. Brooke 
calls the foxhunters' table. Mr. Rose Tree asks Mr. 
Cheshire what sort of a day he had yesterday, and Mr. 
Cheshire says, "Fair, only fair; scent very spotty; plenty 
of foxes, but we could n't do much "; and Mr. Rose Tree, on 
being asked, will say, "O! we had a boiler, hounds ran four 
hours and a half all round our lower country"; when Mr. 
Radnorite will pipe up and say, "We could n't do much; 
put one under, but not a real run; south wind you know"; 
but Mr. Glenn Riddle tells you his hounds only stayed out 
about an hour, as they viewed two foxes away right in front 
of hounds and they could n't even speak to the line: then 
Mr. Brandywine, having finished his oysters, says, "That's 
funny, is n't it, for our hounds had one of the best days of 
the season; ran from right back of the kennels to the out- 
skirts of Downingtown in just about an hour"; and so it 
goes. Scent may be splendid in Thurstington Wood, but 
just across the turnpike in Brookthorpe there's not a 
vestige of a smell. 

But to-day all the neighboring packs found a breast- 
high scent, hounds fairly racing at top speed. 

The Rose Tree ran an hour and forty-five minutes to a 
kill; Mr. Riddle's hounds ran clean away from every one; 
and after I had come home from a very fast thing with the 
Radnor, I could hear hounds running in the country south 
of my house for a long time. 

We met this morning at Battles' Wood (Brooks) at ten 
o'clock, hounds picking up a line on the west side, almost 



86 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

immediately they were cast in, and, working through to the 
east side, pushed a very stout fox out. Fred Phillips view- 
ing him away and holloaing, hounds raced through the 
timber to a check on the Austin Farm, then carried the 
line rather slowly down the hill and over the Goshen Road 
into the swamp, up the hill to a moment's check north of 
the West Chester Pike, then over just below the spot 
where Charlie Snowden was killed a few years ago, and on 
into the lovely big meadows at a racing pace to the Dun- 
woody Home, hounds going just north of the buildings, 
then left-handed, when they sank the valley and fairly flew 
on down the Ridley Creek to Trimble's Hollow Bridge. 
Crossing the creek they appeared to be heading for Upper 
Providence, and, as all the field had to go on to the road 
and through the covered bridge to cross the creek, hounds 
slipped out of sight. 

Thinking the fox was pointing his mask southward, we 
galloped out to the Providence Road, expecting to get on 
even terms with them there, but, on getting to the hilltop, 
found hounds were nowhere in sight. No one was with 
them, that we were sure of. Deciding that the fox must 
have doubled back after crossing the creek, we galloped 
down again into Florida Swamp, and up to the hilltop by 
the Dunwoody Home, with horses hot and ready for a 
check, but hounds nowhere in sight, and the time forty- 
seven minutes since the find, with the greater part of it at 
one's best pace. 

After waiting about some time, and with many sugges- 
tions of what had become of hounds, several of the field de- 
cided they had had enough and started to ride out towards 
Newtown Square. Fred and Mrs. Sturges, in going to- 
wards the Florida Wood, saw the pack marking their fox 
to earth on the edge of the wood, just back of the hill where 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 87 

we all were, so Fred came and told us, and we were greatly 
relieved at finding ourselves right after all. 

Most of us came home from there, having had forty- 
seven minutes of very quick work. 

Among those out were: B. Chew, M.F.H.; Bob and Mrs. 
Strawbridge; Mrs. A. J. A. Devereux; Horace B. Hare; 
Fred and Mrs. Sturges; Isaac H. Clothier, Jr.; Frederick 
Phillips, Jr.; the Misses Ellen Mary and Eugenia Cassatt; 
R. Nelson Buckley; "Pick" Harrison; Charlie Munn; 
Gurnee Munn; Ben Holland; E. V. Dougherty; and Miss 
Emily Barclay. 

Wednesday, 10th January, 19 17 
One does not quite know whether one ought to describe a 
Hunt Ball as the meeting-place of young widows in ash 
cloth and sashes, bold bad men and foxhunters, — whom 
the impossible one Wilde once described as the unspeak- 
able pursuers of the uneatable, — or whether as the best 
dance in the world, provided one has wined and dined 
sufficiently beforehand. It is the sort of thing one enjoys 
enormously, or you do not enjoy it at all. 

Hunt balls in Philadelphia do not come every year, and 
from its success, I guess 'most every one enjoyed it; at any 
rate, it had been ten years since the last one, so no one 
could be tired of them. 

The President, Mr. Beale, appointed Messrs. Benjamin 
Chew, M.F.H., T. DeWitt Cuyler, William S. Ellis, 
Horace B. Hare, and W. Plunket Stewart a committee to 
arrange for the ball, which they did to perfection. 

Mrs. Chew arranged the quadrille, in which there were 
six sets, or forty-eight foxhunters in all, and, after a lot of 
amusing rehearsing, all felt equal to the occasion, or, at 
least, said they did. 



88 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

Will Leverton, huntsman, and Harry Brown, first 
whipper-in, in pink, stood at the ballroom door giving out 
the following hunting songs: 

Figure I 

WE'LL ALL GO OUT HUNTING TO-DAY 

There is but one cure for all maladies sure, 

That reacheth the heart to its core; 

'Tis the sound of the horn, on a fine hunting morn, 

And where is the heart wishing more? 

It turneth the grave into gay, 

Bids sorrow to pleasure give way, 

Makes the old become young, 

And the weak become strong. 

So we'll all go out hunting to-day. 

We'll all go out hunting to-day. 

All nature looks blooming and gay; 

Let us join the glad throng 

That goes laughing along, 

For we'll all go out hunting to-day. 

Figure II 

DRINK, PUPPY, DRINK 

Here's to the fox in his earth below the rocks! 

And here's to the line that we follow, 

And here's to the hound with his nose upon the ground, 

Though merrily we whoop, and we holloa. 

Then drink, puppy, drink, and let every puppy drink, 

That is old enough to lap and to swallow, 

For he'll grow into a hound. So we'll pass the bottle round, 

And merrily we'll whoop, and we'll holloa! 

Figure III 

A SOUTHERLY WIND 

A SOUTHERLY Wind and a cloudy sky 

Proclaim it a hunting morning. 

Before the sun rises away we fly. 

Dull sleep on our downing bed scorning. 

Then to horses, my brave boys, and away. 

It's a beautiful hunting morning. 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 89 

The face of all nature looks gay, 

Bright Phoebus the hills is adorning. 
Hark! hark! forward! Tally ho, tally ho, tally ho. 
Hark! hark! forward! Tally ho, tally ho, tally ho. 

Figure IV 

JOHN PEEL 

D'ye ken John Peel with his coat so grey, 

D'ye ken John Peel at the break of the day, 

D'ye ken John Peel when he's far, far away. 

With his hounds and his horn in the morning? 

'T was the sound of his horn brought me from my bed, 

And the cry of his hounds has me oft-times led. 

For Peel's view halloa would waken the dead. 

Or a fox from his lair in the morning. 

To be sung during the quadrille, and at twelve-thirty, 
Will blew " Gone away" on his hunting horn to clear the 
floor. 

We marched downstairs, my partner for the quadrille, 
Miss Josephine Mather, falling down, much to every one's 
amusement. There was such applause when the quadrille 
was finished that we had to do it all over again, after which 
we marched in to supper. Those in the quadrille being: Mr. 
and Mrs. Benjamin Chew; Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Straw- 
bridge; Mr. and Mrs. W. Plunket Stewart; Mr. and Mrs. 
Robert L. Montgomery; Mr. and Mrs. Chas. Wheeler; 
Mr. and Mrs. Paul D. Mills; Mr. and Mrs. J. Stanley 
Reeve; Mr. and Mrs. Wm. J. Clothier; Mr. and Mrs. John 
R. Valentine; Mr. and Mrs. Wm. S. Ellis; Mr. and Mrs. 
Howard H. Henry; Mr. and Mrs. W. Frazier Harrison; 
Mr. and Mrs. Victor C. Mather; Mrs. A. J. Antelo Dever- 
eux; Miss Margot E. Scull; Miss Ellen Mary Cassatt 
Miss Mather; Mr. Chas. A. Munn; Mr. Francis V. Lloyd 
Mr. Francis Richmond; Mr. and Mrs. Isaac H. Clothier 
Mr. and Mrs. Edw. Browning; the men in pink dress 



90 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

coats and shorts, the ladies in white or silver dresses with 
scarlet sashes across one shoulder. 

Mr. Cuyler kindly gave the decorations, including a 
wonderful hunting scene, painted on a canvas the size of 
the end of the ballroom, and, being banked in the fore- 
ground with palms, etc., made the room seem very long, and 
was quite a distinguishing feature of the ball. 

Most of the prominent hunts of the country were repre- 
sented at the ball, among them being: A. Henry Higgin- 
son, M.F.H., and Mrs. Higginson, Middlesex; Harry S. 
Page, Meadow Brook; James K. Maddox, Warrenton; 
Thomas Cottman, Green Spring; and others from Myopia, 
Harford, Elkridge, Rose Tree, Cheshire, Pickering, Cotts- 
more, White Marsh, Mr. Riddle's, Brandywine, etc. 

The Admiral made quite the hit of the evening, and, 
although surrendering his sword and buttons, stood by 
his ship until she sank. 

Thursday, nth January, 1917 
It was truly a cold grey dawn of the morning after, when 
hounds met at the kennels to-day, and a rather jaded, 
sorry-looking lot of foxhunters turned out in the very, 
very cold wind, so a bottle of the famous Radnor Yellow 
Port was opened for good luck before hounds met. 

Fortunately hounds found at once in Mr. George Earle's 
big meadow, and went away across his lawn to the wood 
above the house, sank the valley, crossing the breast of the 
dam and up the hill on the opposite side of the pond, and 
on into Yarnall's Hollow, on over the road into Tryon 
Lewis's swamp to Mr. John Brown's where hounds swung 
right-handed out across the Creek Road into Tryon Lewis's 
and on to Bob Montgomery's, where the fox went into a 
drain on his driveway. A passing friendly motor was sent 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 91 

to the kennels for the terriers, and, after waiting nearly 
half an hour in the cold, which about froze every one stiff 
the terriers arrived and were put into the drain. The fox 
was bolted at once, heading south; hounds had difficulty 
carrying the line, but finally took us over into Yarnall's 
Hollow again, where scent failed completely, and every 
one quite ready to go back to the Club to thaw out. 

Among those out were: B. Chew, M.F.H.; Mrs. C. R. 
Snowden; D. B. Sharp; Henry C. Barclay; Bob Straw- 
bridge; Julian Biddle; Harry Harrison; Miss Betty 
Sinnickson; Miss Austin; William M. Kerr; Nelson 
Buckley; and Walter Stokes. 

Saturday, 20th January, 1917 
Foxhunting has no law, but only custom and etiquette 
to fall back upon, and it is therefore always a great relief 
to a sporting community when any little difficulties or 
differences in a countryside are patched up. 

Rose Tree and Radnor have had some slight misun- 
derstanding recently over what is known as the lower 
country. It so happened on several occasions that both 
packs of hounds appeared in the same locality the same 
day. Finally a meeting of the respective Masters was ar- 
ranged. No, not to fight, as had been jokingly suggested, 
but to settle their differences by a friendly talk. Both 
Masters took along a few wise advisers, and the out- 
come of it all was that Radnor was to hunt the country 
south of the West Chester Pike, three times a month, and 
on those days the Rose Tree hounds were to hunt else- 
where. But the joke of it was, that the very next time 
Radnor met in the lower country. Rose Tree was also 
there. Some people, whose names had better not be 
mentioned, were pretty mad; but Mr. Rose Tree apolo- 



92 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

gized, having mistaken the dates, and everything was 
smooth sailing from then on. 

And so to-day we had a love feast, the Rose Tree and 
Radnor hounds meeting together at Bromall at ten 
o'clock; Radnor putting down a mixed pack of fifteen and 
one half couples and Rose Tree about the same number. 

The fox from Marsh's wood was at home, was viewed 
away, and gave us a very nice thirty-four minutes out 
across the forbidden Dr. Chambers farm, into Moore's 
and Hatton's, then on over the State Farm, and, keeping 
the Lamb Tavern and Springfield Meeting House on their 
right, hounds fairly raced down-country, marking their 
fox to earth at the foot of an old chestnut tree on the 
Farnum property. 

Reynard number two went out of a bit of wood below 
the Hutchinson Farm, hounds fairly boiling, and horses 
blowing. I don't think I ever rode up and down so many 
hills in my life, for this fox was a circling brute and played 
around the Rose Tree hills until our horses were practi- 
cally cooked. Then this fox evidently asked the assist- 
ance of a friend of his, for the packs split and we said the 
Radnor hounds were running the hunted fox, and the 
Rose Tree people, of course, said theirs were. Neverthe- 
less, after a couple more turns through the hills, the two 
lines crossed and both packs were together again; and, 
racing over the big grass fields of Dr. Hutchinson, swam 
the river and marked their fox to ground after an hour and 
thirty-five minutes, and just as the Media whistles were 
blowing one o'clock. 

As the Rose Tree luncheon was not scheduled until two, 
it gave us time to sit and warm our toes and backs before 
the fire, and incidentally assisted by flight after flight of 
pink cocktails, colored by the pink roses of the original 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 93 

Rose Tree, as Sam Riddle said. They had quite the de- 
sired effect; pink like the Rose Tree, or green like the 
Radnor pastures, it made no difference! Every one 
loved every one else and the food was good; what more 
could foxhunters ask after two good runs? 

Mrs. Jackson, of Rose Tree, brought Miss Blanche Ring, 
who, after speeches by Mr. Beale, Mr. Riddle, Mr. Jack- 
son, and Mr. Chew, sang several of her favorite songs, in- 
cluding that wonderful "Rings on her fingers and bells on 
her toes," which was quite the hit of the day. Sam Riddle 
then sang the "Sign of the Rose." Several people wept, 
but Roy Jackson saved the situation by bringing in a tame 
fox on a lead. It was fed on the table, then led around the 
grounds and put safely away; the kennel doors thrown 
open and the whole Rose Tree pack came out with a roar. 
They picked up the line with a burst of music that could 
be heard for miles, ran it halfway round, and then went 
off down-country all on their own, but evidently on the 
line of another fox, and finally disappeared over the hill- 
tops, undoubtedly having the time of their young lives. 

Among those hunting and at the luncheon were: The 
Master and Mrs. Jackson of Rose Tree; the Master and 
Mrs. Chew of Radnor; the Master and Mrs, Riddle of 
Mr. Riddle's hounds; Mr. Beale; Mrs. Snowden; Walter 
and Mrs. Jeffords; Mrs. Victor C. Mather; Mrs. J. Stanley 
Reeve; Bob and Miss Montgomery; Laurence Bodine; 
William F. Reeve and Foster Reeve; Leander Riddle; 
Misses Ellen Mary and Eugenia Cassatt; Mr. Kerr; 
Walter and Mrs. Roach; Frank Lloyd; F. Wallis Arm- 
strong; Gardner Cassatt, Emanuel Hey; Eddie Dale; Ned 
Blabon; Nelson Buckley; John Converse; Lem Altemus; 
Geo. Brooke III; and Wm. Churchman. 



94 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

Thursday, ist February, 1917 
The tragedies of the hunting-field seem to occur in va- 
rious ways, not only when actually in the field, but some- 
times when apparently safe at home. Last night the stable 
on the Providence Road near the Rose Tree Kennels, 
rented by George Saportas, was completely destroyed by 
fire, and with it his entire string of eight horses, also two of 
Mr. Kerr's, "Hazy," the well-known cross-country horse 
and "Mobell," and "Aunt Fanny," a bay mare belonging 
to Miss Betty Sinnickson, and a very promising chestnut 
colt, "Happy Creek," that I had only just delivered to 
Saportas yesterday. 

George Donnon, his stud groom, an ex-whipper-in at 
Radnor, was also burned to death. 

Fifteen horses in all and several cows were lost. 

Thursday, 22nd February, 1917 
" Washington's Birthday" 

It's seldom we have a season at Radnor without a few 
weeks of weather that puts a complete stop to hunting; 
but it's also seldom that we cannot hunt up to the end of 
March; but this year, owing to the soft going, rain and 
snow, etc., the run on the above date was practically the 
last of any moment. There were other days, but conditions 
were such that the field was kept to the roads, and in fact at 
times the country was so deep that hounds could hardly run. 
The Master and Mrs. Chew gave their annual, delight- 
ful breakfast at the kennels this morning at nine o'clock, 
when about seventy-five foxhunting friends and farmers 
were on hand, and also that good sporting farmer, Sam 
Kirk, and his hounds; Mrs. Chew, as usual, being the ideal 
hostess, and always making the somewhat awed farmer's 
wife feel very much at home. 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL g^ 

Hounds moved off at ten-thirty and picked up a good 
line in Mr. Earle's wood, carrying it over the hill into Yar- 
nall's Hollow, and, keeping Waterloo Mills on their right, 
rolled their fox over in the McGovern meadow, after a very 
short but fast gallop. 

Having seen a fox sitting in the wood on the upper side 
of Yarnall's Hollow as we galloped through, I told the Mas- 
ter, and hounds were taken back there. They owned the 
line at once, carrying it down by the old Tryon Lewis Mill, 
on to the Brown property; then circling back to Yarnall's 
Hollow, hounds finally marked him under in the "Broad 
Acres" hillside. 

The earth was stopped, and later in the day the Master, 
Sam Kirk, and his son, Harry Brown, the first whip, and a 
couple of kennel boys proceeded to dig him out. We all 
took turns at digging, but it was slow work, as there was a 
foot of frost in the ground and the earth a long one. As I 
was leaving at six o'clock, with instructions to stop at the 
kennels and order some lanterns sent out, Sam Kirk called 
out — "You can think of me at midnight still digging." 
He was nearly right, for they did n't get to their fox until 
eight-thirty. 

Among those at the breakfast and in the field were: Miss 
Ellen Mary Cassatt, going beautifully as usual; the Pres- 
ident, Mr. Beale; Harry Barclay; Gardner Cassatt on 
"Greymaster"; Miss Eugenia Cassatt on "Tango"; Miss 
Barclay on "Sandy"; Dave and Mrs. Sharp on chestnut 
colts; Mrs. Chew and R. Penn Smith in a motor; Mr. Hat- 
field; R. Nelson Buckley on the "Iron Woman"; Miss 
Sinnickson on "Uncle Joe," but with an eye on some one 
else who was on a chestnut; Harry and Mrs. Harrison; 
Mrs. Devereux on "Dave W^aller"; George Saportas; Fred 
Sturges on "Pocono," and Mrs. Sturges, in her usual fault- 



96 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

less style, on "Frosty"; Isaac Clothier on "Judge"; Fred 
Phillips; "Buzzy" Smith; Ben Holland; Mr. Delmas; 
Hector McNeal; Dr. Edgar Powell on a very nice-looking 
chestnut; Miss Hopper; Frank Lloyd on "Sherry"; and 
the two Ashton children on ponies. 

24th February, 19 17 
The following bit of appropriate verse by M. V. Wynter, 
was on the back of the menu card at the dinner given last 
night at the Riding Club, New York, by the Masters of 
Fox Hounds' Association, in honor of General Sir Charles 
Gunning, Bart., C.M.G. of the British Remount Service: 

There's a Vale for which I'm sighing, 
I can see its fences still, 
And my thoughts go backward flying, 
With the pack to Golden Hill. 
I can hear that welcome holloa. 
"G-o-n-e away! He's broke at last!" 
Hear the thundering hoofs that follow, 
As I ride into the Past. 

Memories, bitter sweet, come thronging 

As I pace the prison ground, 

And my heart is sick with longing 

For a sight of horse and hound. 

But however dear the days be, 

Fair or foul, or rain or shine. 

Not the Fates themselves can rob me 

Of those Hunts that once were mine. 

Pause a moment, oh, my brothers. 
Who at home so glibly prate, 
How you hope to see foxhunting 
Soon abolished by the State. 
We have fought for you, and gladly. 
Will you now requite us thus? 
Kill the sport we love so madly? 
Think what hunting means to us! 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 97 

For the sake of those who 're absent. 
For the sake of those who 're gone, 
■ All those gallant, cheery comrades 
Who once rallied to the horn; 
For the youngster, true to breeding. 
Longing now the game to learn — 
Hear us soldier exiles pleading, 
Keep it going till we return. 

315/ March, 1917 

Upon the return of the First Troop, Philadelphia City 
Cavalry, known as the City Troop, from the Mexican 
Border, where they had spent several months, it was de- 
cided to hold a Troop Race, known as the Border Plate, 
and it was run this afternoon over the post and rail course 
at Erdenheim. 

There was a good crowd on hand to see R. H. R. " Bint" 
Toland ride his "Sam Ball" to victory, with "Merry 
Christmas," John Converse up, second, and George Brooke 
III on "Hopewell," third. 

The other entries were: R. H. R. Toland's "Bald Face 
Charlie" and "Running Water," "Effigy," belonging to 
Philip Fisher; John Converse's "Hiawatha" and "El Rey"; 
"Flurry Knox," owned by Effingham B. "Buck" Morris; 
and E. F. Revinus's "Game Chick," 

Saturday, jth April, 19 17 
The Sixth Annual Running for the Harston Cup, pre- 
sented by Mr. H. Frazer Harris, was held at Erdenheim this 
afternoon, and won by Mr. William J. Clothier's "Bros- 
seau," ridden by Mr. Gilbert Mather, from a field of nine, 
with Welsh Strawbridge's "River Breeze," owner up, sec- 
ond, and Mr. A. J. A. Devereux, on his "Rapacious," 
third; the "also rans" being: Mr. W. W. Lanahan's "Ed- 
win Grey; Mr. Kline's "Ruskin"; Mr. Toland's "Sam 



98 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

Ball"; Mr. Converse's "Merry Christmas"; Mr. Riddle's 
"Glen Riddle"; and Mr. Leiper's "Miss Oxford"; the 
previous winners of this cup being: 191 2, Mr. John Straw- 
bridge's "Grand Master"; 191 3, Mr. C. Mahlon Kline's 
"Baldface Charlie"; 1914, Brandywine Stables' "Rut- 
land"; 1915, Mr. WilHam J. Clothier's "Meltonere"; 
1916, Mr. Welsh Strawbridge's "River Breeze." 

Saturday, i^th April, 1917 
There was a fair-sized crowd and beautiful weather for 
the Second Radnor Spring Steeplechase at Happy Creek 
Farms to-day. The hostess, Mrs. Harrison, more charm- 
ing than ever, again presented the plate to the winner. 

Fourteen horses came to the post, Harry Barclay get- 
ting them away in good order. It was a beautiful race as 
they galloped down the slope to the first jump, but, on 
coming around over the hill, the pace began to tell, and 
Mrs. Hagen's "Jesuit," with Harry Tucker up, fell; then 
out by the far turn Gerry Leiper, on "Miss Oxford," 
turned over, followed shortly by Bill Clothier's "Brosseau" 
and John Converse's "Merry Christmas," with the owner 
up. Welsh Strawbridge on "River Breeze" had a good 
deal the best of it, but, unfortunately, went outside one 
flag, and, although coming home first, was disqualified and 
the race given to Antelo Devereux on "Rapacious," with 
second money to "Bint" Toland's "Sam Ball," with Ed- 
die Cheston up, and Clarence Kline's "Ruskin," third; the 
"also rans" being "Edwin Grey" and "Cockspur," 
"Whirlwind," "Glen Riddle," "Wild Irishman," and 
"Rock Abbey." 

Saturday, 21st April, 19 17 
When C. Mahlon Kline, Esq., took over the Mastership 
at White Marsh, the Club imported a pack of English 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 99 

hounds to replace the American hounds that had been 
in kennel during the regimes of Welsh Strawbridge and 
Gerry Leiper. 

As is always the case, there was a good deal of discus- 
sion as to the advisability of an English pack; but, at any 
rate, the new hounds arrived in due course; and, as there 
were four very likely-looking bitches among the lot, " Sanc- 
tity," "Sandal," "Nameless," and "Radish," four good 
litters of puppies were whelped, all sired by "Lancer," a 
fine big upstanding dog, with plenty of bone and quite 
good feet. 

When these puppies came in from walk, it was decided 
to hold the first (and as it turned out to be the last) White 
Marsh Valley Hunt Puppy Show, at the residence of Mr. 
and Mrs, Francis L Gowen and Miss Marianna Gowen, at 
Chestnut Hill. It was a beautiful spring day, and, after a 
delightful luncheon on the terrace, the puppies were judged 
by Robert E. Strawbridge, Esq., M.F.H., Cottsmore. 

"Lively," an extremely nice Belvoir tan dog puppy, out 
of "Sandal," walked by Julian C. Biddle, Esq., and, put 
down in very good condition, won the class for the best 
walked dog; while "Sorcerer," by "Lancer" out of 
"Sanctity," and walked by Miss Gowen, won the cup pre- 
sented by Mrs. W. Frazier Harrison for the best dog puppy. 

"Saucy," also out of "Sanctity," won Mr. Welsh Straw- 
bridge's cup for the best bitch puppy; and she also won Mr. 
E. B. Smith's cup, given for the best puppy in the Show. 

After the puppies, the old hounds were brought in the 
ring. "Lancer," the sire of all the winning puppies, quite 
easily won over the other dogs, taking Henry C. Barclay, 
Esq.'s cup; and "Guesswork" was given the Howard H. 
Henry cup for the best bitch. 

Among those at the luncheon and show were: Mr. and 



loo RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

Mrs. Benjamin Chew; Mr. and Mrs. Samuel D. Riddle; 
Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Strawbridge; Mr. and Mrs. W. 
Frazier Harrison; Mrs. J. Stanley Reeve; Miss Ellen Mary 
Cassatt; Miss Gertrude Henry; Miss Eugenia Cassatt; 
Miss Savage; Miss Margot Scull; Miss Kitty Smith; 
Messrs. Henry C. Barclay, C. M. Kline, and Russell H. 
Johnson; Mr. and Mrs, A. Barker Mellor; and Mr. and 
Mrs. W. H. Mulford. 

Saturday, I2th May, 1917 
The Master of the Cheshire hounds was host to all the 
racing and foxhunting fraternity at Chesterland to-day, 
and, barring one dark cloud that dropped a bit of rain on 
the spotless linen spread on the lawn, the hills of Chester 
County never looked more beautiful. The Sporting World 
and his wife were there. They came to luncheon and they 
stayed for tea, and some of the more favored stayed to din- 
ner and passed the night. 

After luncheon under the lovely pines, Charles E. Ma- 
ther, Esq., M.F.H. Brandywine, assisted by his huntsman, 
Thompson, judged the Cheshire young entry, consisting 
of three couples of dog puppies and six couples of bitches. 
"Commodore," an exceptionally nice Belvoir tan dog by 
"Pytchley Driver," out of "Burton Comfort," won his 
class for the best dog hound, while "Tissue," a bitch of 
great quality with especially good bone and feet, by the 
"Cottsmore Fisherman," out of "Heythrop Tipsy," was 
awarded the blue among the bitches. 

After the Puppy Show came the steeplechase for the 
Cheshire Cup, of three miles over a hunting country for 
any horse, the bona-fide property of, and ridden by, a mem- 
ber of a recognized hunt or a farmer of Chester, Delaware, 
or Lancaster Counties; the winner's name to be inscribed 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL loi 

on "The Nimrod Vase," presented by Mr. M. B. Perkins. 

There were six starters: Welsh Strawbridge's "River 
Breeze," with the owner up; William J. Clothier's "Wild 
Irishman"; Mrs. Hagen's "Jesuit," ridden by J. Hunter 
Lucas; Nelson Buckley's "Duster"; "Glen Riddle," by 
"The Bard," from the Glen Riddle Farms; and R. H. R. 
Toland's "Sam Ball," with Eddie Cheston up. 

"Ruskin," "Brosseau," and "Mayon Head" being 
scratched, "Wild Irishman" made the running awhile at 
the start, but the long hill on the far side of the course 
took it out of some of them, and "River Breeze" galloped 
home quite an easy winner. 



SEASON OF 1917-1918 



SEASON OF 1917-1918 

Owing to this terrible and almost universal war, certain 
economies in hunting must be practised by those who stay 
at home. Those who stay at home must "carry on" in 
such a manner as to lose nothing in the way of efficiency, 
yet to do so will be no easy task. 

It is one of the beauties of foxhunting that the sport is 
not at all dependent on the scale of the establishment by 
which it is carried on. Sport depends on the stoutness of 
foxes, on the skill and keenness of the huntsman, and on 
the steadiness of hounds. Some men like Sam Kirk would 
show more sport with one horse and two couples of hounds 
than would some others with horses and hounds galore. 

It is all very nice to have things on a liberal scale as we 
have had in the past, but if we must do without, we must 
do the best we can. 

Ben Chew, M.F.H., Bob Strawbridge, and I met at the 
kennels on June 24th, to talk over the situation, and en- 
deavor to put into practice some system of economies 
whereby the usual Radnor standard of sport could be 
carried on, but at a greatly reduced figure. Cutting down 
is hard, especially so when it comes to the question of 
putting down hounds, but it had to be done; so in consul- 
tation with the huntsman, we drafted the following five and 
one-half couples at once: "Gaylad," "Life Guard," "Fid- 
dler," "Firefly," "Flirt," "Fair Play," "Lilock," "Hasty," 
"Kirkie," "Dinch," and "Boston." 

If you halve the number of hunting days, you halve the 
necessary number of hounds; halve the hours of the day 
also, and you quarter the number of hounds; but we did n't 
go as fast as that, for it is destroying the pack and perhaps 



io6 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

the blood, too, and as Mr. Dale, in the Sporting and Dra- 
matic NewSy says : " When you have hounds that can and will 
race a fox to death in a bad scent, your equine bill will 
be in exact proportion to your canine expenditure. At the 
top of expenditure all your field will have two horses out 
and a motor car. Your hunt servants must be equally well 
mounted as the field, for whereas in one of the latter it is no 
sin to go the pace he prefers, in the professional class, it is a 
crime not to be there." 

It should be the ideal and desire of every whipper-in to 
be huntsman, and, although a great loss to Radnor, we 
were all delighted when Harry Brown was given the op- 
portunity of going to the Cheshire in that capacity. It left 
Radnor in a sort of a hole, as whippers-in are not the easi- 
est positions to fill, and especially in war-times. A substi- 
tute was nevertheless found in George Heatley. 

Every one was restless and thinking of what he could 
best do in the war, and towards the middle of summer, the 
opportunity came for a good many sportsmen in the Re- 
mount Service, 

The Radnor M.F.H., Benjamin Chew, accepted a com- 
mission as Captain, and immediately sent in his resigna- 
tion to the Hunt. A special meeting of the Board of Gov- 
ernors was called for ist August, 1 917, at the kennels. His 
resignation was not accepted, but "laid on the table"; and 
while having dinner on the terrace, the following Hunt 
Committee was appointed to carry on during his absence: 
W. Hinckle Smith, Harry W. Harrison, S. Laurence Bo- 
dine, Rowland Comly, and J. Stanley Reeve, Chairman. 

Hunting by a committee has not been a success since the 
days of Jorrock's onward. A Master is, and should be, an 
autocrat as long as he is Master, but a Hunt Committee 
will not do. 




J'l,nt..'J,<,i,l, hll Hun ,1 S. II. 



EDWARD C. DALE, ESQ. 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 107 

And again, to quote Mr. Dale: "A Master can influence 
and win over farmers. Most committees would fail to do 
this for reasons obvious to any one with experience." 

The Radnor Committee was not a success. 

Finally the President called a meeting of the Governors 
to elect a Master to fill the vacancy during the war, and 
Mr. Bodine was unanimously chosen to carry on, and did 
so with great success. 

Julian C. Biddle was one of the first Radnor men to give 
his life for his country. I remember saying good-bye to him 
at the corner of 4th and Walnut, the day before he sailed 
for France. 

He was one of the few remaining types of the old-school 
sportsman, and was willing to work for his sport and go to 
a lot of trouble to have a morning's gallop. 

During cubbing, when hounds leave the kennels at five- 
thirty or six o'clock, Julian would be there on time, always 
smiling, having motored over from Penllyn in the dark and 
gotten up certainly not later than four o'clock. He often 
would spend the night at the Club so as to get an hour's 
ride with hounds and be in town for business by nine- 
thirty. 

There are very, very few of the present generation of 
young gentlemen who will make as much effort to have a 
bit of sport; the great tendency of the day being to want 
one's pleasures made easy and convenient, and to com- 
plain if a bit of exertion has to be made to get sport of 
any kind. 

Julian was killed the morning of i8th August, 1917, 
while flying from Saint-Pol, France, to Dunkirk. Just what 
caused his plane to fall into the sea appears a mystery; but 
his body was found washed upon the sand dunes that 



io8 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

guard the Netherlands from the sea, and was buried In the 
peaceful little coast village of Egmond-aan-Zee. 

Zrd September, 1917 — "Labor Day" 
It's rather late In the season to begin cubbing, but such Is 
the effect of war economies, etc., on a hunting establish- 
ment. 

It was an ideal morning to be after the cubs, just the 
right snap to the air at five-thirty, when hounds left the 
kennel. Will Leverton bringing out a mixed pack of seven- 
teen couples, including the seven couples of young entry, 
and I never saw the Radnor pack in better shape. No one 
else appeared at the meet, and I must confess I was pretty 
lonely and sad as I rode up the Creek Road back of hounds. 
However, on reaching the Godfrey Road we picked up 
Bob Montgomery and his daughter, Miss Hope, and at 
Tryon Lewis's Mill met Harry Harrison and his nephew, 
Charlie, age ten. 

Hounds found at once In YarnalFs Hollow, and, after 
making a couple of circles around the Hollow, went away 
in beautiful style. The young entry settled to their work 
like veterans, and, on crossing the Calvert Farm, we had a 
splendid view of a fine big cub racing over the meadow 
with the pack right on his brush, but a friendly cornfield 
saved him. 

Young Charlie Harrison was apparently greatly disap- 
pointed when he viewed this fox. What sort of an animal he 
expected to see we could n't get from him, but, evidently, 
something about the size of a calf, from the way he spoke. 

Quoting Mr. Dale, of the Sporting and Dramatic News: 
"It's not only the young who are surprised at the size of 
a fox. Ask any novice who sees a fox break covert for the 
first time in his life, to compare It in weight to some well- 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 109 

known kind of dog, and the answer will be amazingly out 
of the truth. The average dog fox does not weigh sixteen 
pounds. Instead of comparing it with a smaller fox terrier 
of about sixteen to eighteen pounds, the comparison will 
much more often be to short-legged dogs of thirty to sixty 
pounds. I suppose that is because the outstanding fur of the 
fox stands for a good deal, and his brush for much more. 
But in either case he is a triumph of nature, and no dog 
that was ever bred of his weight can run with him, fight 
with him, and, also, go to ground with him. Besides, it 
takes a pack of hounds of probably fifteen couples, each 
hound four times his own weight, to get on even terms 
with him, although they have all the assistance of the 
huntsman, the whippers-in, and the field, besides the 
heartfelt shouts and view signals of all the farmers for 
miles round. Every hand and every voice before and be- 
hind is the enemy of the fox. All owe him a grudge of some 
kind. To the Master he is a good sporting friend who has 
always won the rubber up to now, and he must be paid for 
that; to the huntsman he is a beast that has done his ut- 
most to spoil a reputation, and he must be paid for that. To 
the field he is either a bold fox that must be killed to grat- 
ify hounds, or a coward that must be eaten for the sake of 
his own species." 

Cubbing continued with fair scent right along for several 
weeks, while "Governor," one of the young entry, distin- 
guished himself on several occasions. On Tuesday, 23rd 
October, after meeting at the kennels at seven o'clock with 
quite a field out, composed of the Master, Mr. Bodine; Mrs. 
Charlie Munn; Mrs. Frazier Harrison; Mrs. Valentine; 
Ned and Miss Dougherty; Miss Barclay; Miss Bailey, of 
Ardmore; Lem Altemus; Rowland Comly; Captain Barclay 
McFadden; Miss Alex Dolan; Nelson Buckley and David 



no RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

S. B. Chew, hounds found a fox in the wood back of Louis 
Meimbresse's quarry, and, carrying the line over the hill 
into Mrs. Clyde's, swung right-handed and raced down- 
country through the Fox Hill Farm to the Chimney Cor- 
ner, where it looked as if a fresh fox went away in front of 
hounds. Having dwelt at the Corner a moment, hounds 
ran on at a great pace across the Stuart Wood property to 
the Darby Creek, then on to the golf course, where they 
turned left-handed, and, coming back through Brook- 
thorpe, crossed the Highland Farm into Drexel's. Sup- 
posing our fox would go to ground under the swimming- 
pool, we were surprised to see hounds turn and make an- 
other loop to the creek; crossing the golf course again and 
coming back to Wootten, hounds made the same circuit 
the third time, finally marking their fox to ground at the 
Chimney Corner, after an hour and ten minutes of very 
nice work. 

Meeting at White Horse on Saturday, 27th October, 
hounds gave us an exceptionally good morning after two 
very stout cubs; and, as the day was warm and sultry, 
horses and hounds had all they wanted, as also did Mrs. 
John Valentine, for she appeared at the meet in a heavy 
winter habit, and, before the run was half over, was com- 
plaining bitterly. But she was not the only one out of luck, 
for Fred and Mrs. Sturges, having come over from New 
York to look over their stud at Dave Sharp's, and inciden- 
tally have a morning's cubbing, ran out of gasoline half- 
way to the meet, so missed the run. 

Hounds found their first fox in Fairy Hill, George Heat- 
ley viewing him out the top side of covert, with the pack 
giving him a run for his money, and, keeping Sugartown on 
their left, came down to the Evans meadow, on to Cath- 
cart's Rocks, where they gave every one, excepting Will 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL i[i 

Leverton, the slip, and, turning sharp back, ran to Waynes- 
boro and through to Nawbeck, where scent failed entirely. 

Most of the field, deciding they had lost enough weight 
for one day, left from here; but on coming down-country 
hounds pushed another cub out of Rowland Comly's wood, 
and after a very smart run of fifteen minutes marked him 
to earth in Battles's (Brooks's) wood. 

Among the field were the Master; Mrs. Snowden, beau- 
tifully mounted and riding her own line as usual; Isaac 
Clothier, Jr.; Ned and Miss Dougherty; Eddie Dale; Nel- 
son Buckley; Lowber and John Stokes; Lem Altemus; Miss 
Eugenia Cassatt; and Arthur Dickson. 

1st November, 19 17 
It was sad to-day at Newtown Square; even the old inn 
did n't somehow look the same. There were very few 
smiling farmer friends to greet the hounds, besides only a 
field of seven for an opening meet at Radnor. A couple of 
years ago one would have said such a thing impossible. 
No breakfast for the opening meet at Happy Creek; no 
pink coats, not even for the hunt servants; but the great 
point is to keep the sport going, and that can only be done 
by science, enthusiasm, and perseverance, with greatly 
reduced funds. 

Hunting has never been exclusively a rich man's game, 
which is one of its blessings. A good foxhound is enough 
to make a cry, and a horse that can gallop and stay is all 
we need, so those of us who are still at home must carry 
on, even if things are not quite as we would like them. 

Even most of the ladies deserted hounds to-day. 

Yarnall's Hollow was drawn blank; but on working up 
the creek through Mr. John Brown's wood, "Doctor" 
spoke to a line and the rest of the pack, taking it up, 



112 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

worked it out through the Old Mill property to the 
meadows opposite Happy Creek, where scent improved, 
and, running with a good cry to Dr. Bartholomew's, 
turned back and took us at a good clip to Yarnall's 
Hollow, then back again and, with a good gallop over Mr. 
Brown's lovely fields, hounds ran to Harrison's gateway, 
turned, and, taking us back over Brown's and into Yarnall's 
Hollow once more, were taken home when they checked a 
moment in the wood. 

The field of seven included: The Master; Walter Roach, 
of Rose Tree, who seemed to thoroughly enjoy himself; 
Ned Dougherty; Miss Austin; Ned Blabon; and Fred 
Phillips. 

Saturday, lOth November, 1917 

Scent was so poor to-day that hounds could do nothing. 

Fox after fox was viewed away right in front of them and 

they could n't own the line at all. 

Rose Tree found the same conditions, and I hear that 

at White Marsh their hounds could not even run the 

drag. 

Saturday, 24th November, 1917 
Cheshire Hounds, Cheshire Inn, nine o^clock 

Capt. Plunket Stewart, having returned from his re- 
mount duties in the West for a few days, kindly asked me 
to have a day with him and his most excellent hounds; so 
on Friday afternoon we motored up-country, stopping at 
Howard Henry's farm at Wawasset for dinner, where, 
with Mrs. Henry, Mrs. Devereux, Mrs. Valentine, Mrs. 
Mather, and Mrs. Frazier Harrison, we spent a most en- 
joyable evening, motoring on to the Cheshire Inn to pass 
the night. 
The morning was beautiful, with just a nice snap to the 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 113 

air, when hounds met at the inn at nine o'clock. The 
ladies arrived on time, so we were off quite promptly. 
Mr. Kerr motored up from Trainer to hunt with us, and 
Penn Smith came on the train to West Chester, trolleying 
to Unionville from there. C. C. Newlin and Mr. Cham- 
bers were also out. 

The first draw was Webb's Wood, which was blank, 
hounds working back through the Chesterland Farm, the 
Logan Farm, and on to Cox's Wood, when we saw Penn 
Smith on a hilltop waving his arms. Hounds picked up 
the line at once in the wood, and carrying it out across the 
meadow and over the road where Penn was, and, on 
galloping up to him, he said two foxes had gone away. 
Hounds settled to the line of one of them beautifully, and 
here we had a nice bit of jumping in and out of the road, 
Penn enjoying it immensely! Scent was a bit catchy for 
a few minutes, but hounds ran fast enough to keep us 
galloping right along over the grass. It was all grass, and 
over a beautiful line of country for fifty minutes, when 
hounds marked their fox to ground along the railroad cut 
in the Glen Hall Barrens, much to every one's satisfac- 
tion. Our horses had gone splendidly, every one was well 
up alongside of hounds all the time, so everybody was in 
the best of spirits. 

Mrs. Devereux was riding her grey "Happy Boots"; 
Plunket on "High Brow"; Mrs. Valentine on "Quah"; 
and I, a green chestnut mare whose name I cannot remem- 
ber, that Mr. Kerr lent me, but who carried me very well 
through this run. 

Hounds soon found a second very stout fox in Pass- 
more's wood that went away like the proverbial "bat out 
of hell," with the pack, as Plunket afterwards said, 
"Roaring like bulls." It was about the fastest thing on 



114 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

record, every one racing at top speed, when the chestnut 
I was riding began to tire a bit, and, in jumping out of a 
farmyard, put me down, fortunately on a nice bit of soft 
turf; but by the time I was up and on again, hounds were 
out of sight, but not out of hearing. I had a long stern 
chase, and finally came even with hounds in the Laurels, 
having missed about fifteen minutes of the best of it. 
Hounds pushed their fox on out of the Laurels and on 
over the hilltop where scent began to fail, and finally van- 
ished entirely at the Burnt Chimney, thirty-five minutes 
from the find. 

Harry Brown's horse was entirely gone, so Mr. Kerr 
changed with him. Mine was cooked a good while before, 
but still able to plod along; in fact, every one had a plenty, 
so hounds were taken home. 

Sunday, 2$th November, 19 17 
To lose old friends is always sad; whether they be hu- 
man friends, dog friends, or horse friends; and sometimes 
the loss of one's four-footed friends is much harder to 
bear than the loss of one's "fair-weather" human friends. 
The four-footed fellows are, thank God, seldom of the 
"fair-weather" variety. 

All the hunting community were grieved this after- 
noon to learn that Isaac H. Clothier, Jr., had lost five of 
his best hunters when his stable at Radnor burned. 
"Miss Canada," "Ichabod," "Ingomar," "Colonel Liv- 
ingston," and "Virginia Boy," were burned in their stalls. 
One of his old favorites,/' Judge," was fortunately saved. 

Thursday, 2gth November, 1917 — "Thanksgiving Day" 
It was a very different sort of Thanksgiving Day at 
Radnor this year from those of the past. We had no 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 115 

breakfast for the farmers, nor horse show nor races, and, 
owing to the war economies, hounds even were not sched- 
uled to go out; but, thanks to the efforts of Mrs. Bob 
Strawbridge, the governors decided to let hounds go out 
in order to give the officers, who were home from Camp 
Meade for the day, a bit of sport. 

Major Francis V. Lloyd, I mounted on "Tommy"; 
Nelson Buckley lent "Duster" to Lieutenant George 
Brooke; Miss Alexandra Dolan mounted Lieutenant Bill 
Corcoran on "Sloe Gin"; the Cassatts gave Lieutenant 
Clifton Lisle a horse; Lieutenant Bobby Strawbridge was 
on his father's "Radnor"; Lieutenant Harry Barclay on 
Miss Barclay's "Sandy"; Captain Clarence H. Clark III 
and Lieutenant Gurnee Munn were also among the offi- 
cers out. 

There was quite a bit of snow on the ground, but the 
going was fairly good, and fortunately we found a fox in 
Yarnall's Hollow. He went out the upper side of the 
covert, over the hill and on across the Wyola Road into 
the farm "Pick" Harrison used to have. Hounds checked 
here a moment, ran into the wood, and, turning left- 
handed, crossed the brook, then on at a nice galloping 
pace over the Newtown Road, into the field opposite the 
Harrison Meadows, then out to Hector NcNeal's on the 
Paoli Road, where they turned down-country again and 
crossed into Happy Creek Farms to the Old Mill, where 
we had a good view of our fox, a rather small one. Turn- 
ing again, hounds sank the vale and swung up-country 
again, practically over the same line as before, then 
down-country once more through Mr. John Brown's wood 
and on into Yarnall's Hollow, where he must have gone 
to ground in the rocks, but hounds did not mark him 
under. 



ii6 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

It was quite a nice fifty-eight minutes, and thoroughly 
enjoyed by all the officers, as it was their first and proba- 
bly only run of the season. 

Mr. Edward Ilsley, who was following in a motor, was 
waiting along the Wyola Road opposite Serrill's track, 
watching hounds. As they came over the hill from Yar- 
nall's Hollow, he saw the hunted fox trying to put hounds 
off the line by running along the top rail of a post-and- 
rail fence. One often hears of a fox doing a trick like this, 
but it's very seldom that one sees it. At any rate, it 
was n't successful this time, for hounds carried the line 
straight alongside this fence and on through the wood. 

How much of the sagacity of the fox is real and how 
much is the supposed repetition of fabulous feats and their 
parallels, one never quite knows; and, as Mr. Dale says in 
the Sporting and Dramatic News, I have recently seen 
records of the doings of foxes that are supposed to have 
been done by design to save their lives and to be due to 
reasoning powers. Thus a fox is seen to run along the top 
of a wall and he chances to escape. Consequently, he is 
supposed to have "run the wall" in order to escape; that 
is, in order to put hounds off the scent. It has never struck 
me as a feat performed for any such object, except to this 
extent, that any turn is likely to put hounds off, not more 
so if it is a turn at right angles, as along a fence after an 
approach to it over the open of a field, or whether that 
right-angle turn is in the middle of a field or on the fence. 
Foxhounds are bred for drive, and consequently any 
right-angle turn is as likely, and no more likely, to make 
them overrun the line than a sudden hide in a furrow 
would be. But there may not be a furrow to hide in. There 
may be a wall, and, if hounds approach the latter and smell 
fox scent on top of it, they naturally believe it comes from 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 117 

the other side, and jump the wall, and press on in the di- 
rection opposite that they came from. That does not 
appear to me to be half as clever as the method of the 
hare which, coursed by greyhounds, shoots through a muse 
in the wall as the greyhounds jump it. Then the hare in- 
stantly pops back through the hole, while the greyhounds, 
having cleared the wall, gaze for the hare exactly in the 
direction she pretended to be going, but did not go. Three 
parts of all the fancied cleverness of hunted animals 
arises from the fact that they can become scentless some- 
times by intention and sometimes by accident. Of all 
creatures that one would suppose to have no control over 
their scent, the hunted deer and the hunted fox are appar- 
ently the most likely, but really it is just the reverse. A 
stag is run with a good scent. Suddenly he disappears and 
leaves no trace of a scent. He has probably taken couch 
somewhere, and a total absence of movement serves his 
turn and saves his life. That absolute stillness is as useful 
to him as to the incubating partridge; but what happens to 
the scent he made in going to the spot he chooses for the 
couch of a hunted deer? He did not fly to it. 

Among the rest of the field were: Mrs. Charlie Munn; 
Miss Eugenia Cassatt; Mrs. Bob Strawbridge; S. Laurence 
Bodine; Ned Blabon; Rowland Comly and his son, Lester; 
and Miss Ellen Mary Cassatt, on Gardner Cassatt's 
"Greymaster," going in her usual faultless style. 

6th February, 19 18 
Not since the winter of 18 18- 181 9, ninety-nine years ago, 
has there been such a continued cold spell of weather and 
one to stop hunting for so many weeks, as we have prac- 
tically been stopped since December 8 th. 
First came quite a fair-sized snow that melted, then 



ii8 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

suddenly froze up while it was trying to run ofF, leaving 
the ground with a coating of ice from four to six inches 
thick, not in spots, but all over the country. Hunting, of 
course, was out of the question, as it was impossible to 
ride the country, or for hounds to get about. 

After a fortnight of the ice, it began to snow every few 
days until there were twenty-eight inches on the ground, 
with the mercury down to io° below zero on two occasions, 
and on Tuesday, February 5th, 191 8, the glass at the 
Racquet Club in town was 3° below zero at lunch-time, 
the coldest on record for the middle of the day. 

There's a touch of spring in the air to-day, with rivers 
of water running in every direction; but it will take sev- 
eral days of good warm sunshine to make it fit to hunt. 

A lineman, digging a hole for a telegraph pole in Bryn 
Mawr, told me the other day there were forty-four inches 
of frost in the ground, so when that begins to come out, 
there will be plenty of mud and soft going to plow through. 

Mrs. Edward H. Carle, of Millbrook, who came here 
for the hunting at the close of the Millbrook Season, and 
has taken Louis Meimbresse's cottage, is rather out of 
luck, but maybe now the weather is breaking, she may get 
a run for her money after all. She brought along a very 
nice string of horses; but like all the others in the country, 
they have been eating their heads off of late. 

Thursday, i^th February, 191 8 
Having been snowed up for so long, hounds evidently 
decided to celebrate to-day, and after meeting at New- 
town Square at one-thirty, and drawing several coverts 
blank, they settled on the line of a small red pig belonging 
to Dr. Bartholomew. With a marvellous burst of music 
that made every one sit up and take notice, they raced 




MRS, EDWARD H. CARLE, ON GERMOND" 
1916 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 119 

away, and then we saw Mr. Pig galloping down the road 
just ahead of hounds. They could n't be stopped in time, 
and the pig squeezing under a fence took to the open 
country with the pack at his heels. Owing to the remains 
of a snowdrift, the fence was unjumpable, and, before we 
could get to them, hounds had rolled the pig over and were 
worrying him in good style, with Mr. Pig giving volumes 
of tongue. 

Mrs. Carle's servant, Johnson, and I finally reached the 
worry, and, after much rating, succeeded in rescuing the 
poor porker, who turned out to be very little the worse for 
wear. Barring a couple of tears, his tough hide was whole, 
and with a bit of petting quite regained his fat equilibrium, 
after which we put him in the Doctor's barn and bedded 
him down with clean straw. 

Dave Sharp, having gone home just before the pig epi- 
sode, heard hounds, and, thinking we were having a good 
run, took a fresh horse and came boiling down-country, but 
did n't reach the scene of activities in time to get a hoof. 

However, it very often takes something a little out of 
the ordinary to change one's luck, and, on working down- 
country, a fox was viewed away from the wood opposite 
Happy Creek. Carrying him through Waterloo Mills, 
hounds ran over Mr. Brown's beautiful pasture to 
Yarnall's Hollow, to Mr. Earle's, over the Goshen Road 
to the Hospital Farm, and to Bryn Mawr Avenue, where 
they turned left-handed into the Phillips property, and, 
as it was getting dark, were taken home when they checked 
a moment at the railroad. 

Mrs. Walter Roach, of Rose Tree, was out for a while, 
but left before the run; the others were: The Master; 
Mrs. Carle; Miss Barclay; Ned Blabon; Nelson Buckley; 
and Dave Sharp. 



120 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

Saturday, 2nd March, 1918 
It may not be one of the rules of the game to deliberately 
put one's hounds on the line of a fox that another pack is 
running, but, at any rate, it gave Radnor a long run to-day, 
and apparently caused no ill-feeling with the other fellow- 
me-lad. 

After meeting at White Horse at ten-thirty, and finding 
several coverts blank, we heard and saw a pack of hounds 
in full cry just crossing the State Road by the Rush Hos- 
pital. The Radnor pack was lifted, and, galloping to 
Hog Lane, met the West Chester hounds as they entered 
the swamp, so, joining forces, the two packs ran at a 
good pace for Malvern; but, keeping the village on their 
right, fairly flew up-country, and, fortunately for us, 
quite near and parallel to a friendly road, as the country 
was much too soft for horses to gallop in for any length of 
time. After ten minutes hounds checked in a very pretty 
farmyard, but Will Leverton had them going again before 
any one had time to get the mud out of his eyes; and, 
pushing through the Hershey Mill Wood, turned left- 
handed over the Sullivan Farm to Shellbark Hollow, 
where hounds dwelt a moment, much to our horses' re- 
lief. But on working it out of the Hollow, they raced away 
down-country to the Keen Farm, and, keeping the farm 
buildings on their right, took us back to Hershey's Mill; 
then, crossing the millpond on the ice, hounds went over 
the King Road, into the Brown Farm; then, bearing 
southward through the woodlands, ran to the middle of 
Hoopes Brothers and Thomas's Nurseries, where, as 
always happens, hounds were put to their noses and 
finally came to a complete check. William Brice, the West 
Chester huntsman, found the fox's track in the mud, and, 
capping hounds on, they carried it slowly to the lower side 
of the nursery where scent failed completely. 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 121 

Having been galloping two hours and thirty-five min- 
utes, it was decided to separate the two packs and go 
home; but home was a long way off. 

Among the West Chester field were: Dick and Mrs. 
Murtagh; "Moan" Worth; and Wycofl' Smith, of the 
Whiteland's Hunt; and a lot of hard-riding farmers; also, 
a very small boy in a faded Wild- West costume, who rode 
a shaggy, short-legged pony that went like the proverbial 
"bat out of hell"; and a most amusing man, whom I had 
a great feeling for, because, when he came to a fence, no 
matter how small, he would gallop full tilt up to it, throw 
himself off, climb over with his crock of a horse following 
him, take a flying leap into the saddle, and be on his way 
with practically no loss of time. He was a wonder. 

Among the Radnor field were: Mr. Bodine; Mrs. 
Carle; Ned Blabon; Miss Dougherty; Dave and Mrs. 
Sharp; Mrs. Snowden, going superbly, as is her way; 
Randy Snowden; Miss Barclay; Buck and Gerry and 
Mrs. Leiper; and Ben Holland. 

Saturday, gtk March, 19 18 
Having met at Sugartown and drawn the country blank 
up to Shellbark Hollow, we heard hounds apparently go- 
ing away from the upper side of the swamp. 

Shellbark is a mean covert to get through, and, if they 
were really going out the far side, it meant a long gallop 
around to get to them, so some of us, including the Master, 
Captain and Mrs. Devereux, Mrs. Sharp, Mr. Blodget, of 
New York, and Miss Ellen Mary Cassatt, made a try for 
it, and, on reaching the stony hilltop where we expected to 
get on terms with our hounds, we heard hounds on our 
left, which we knew could not be Radnor. Presently a 
splendid big fox broke from a wood and came galloping 



122 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

along towards us across the valley. He ran under several 
post and rail fences, but, on coming to a big worm fence, 
stood well off and took it in his stride like a greyhound, and 
in most beautiful style. 

The other pack turned out to be the Chester Valley, 
William C. Wilson, M.F.H., and, carrying the line on into 
Shellbark Hollow, ran to Hershey's Mill, where Mrs. 
Sharp viewed the fox going back up country. Radnor 
hounds had by now harked to the Chester Valley; but, as 
it commenced to rain and sleet and blow, hounds were first 
brought to their noses and then to a full stop, and, when 
the combined arts of the two huntsmen failed to produce 
results, we started a long, long hack home. 

But misery loves company, and company makes a long 
ride seem short. 



"THE BOOT HUNT AND A LEMON PIE" 

Monday, i8th March, 1918 
At the invitation of Mr. R. J. Barry, of West Chester, 
I journeyed to the Boot, this beautiful spring morning, 
taking Mrs. Eddie Carle with me; our horses having gone 
on much earlier, as it's a long hack from here, seventeen 
miles at least, and really too far to send a horse for a day's 
hunting. 

We met our horses at Goshen School, jogged on to the 
Boot, reaching there just at ten o'clock, and, instead of 
finding hounds about ready to start, found the break- 
fast just commencing, the hospitable host, "Barry of the 
Boot," insisting upon our going into the house and eating. 
We did n't feel much like eating, but had to make a try at 
it. So, on going through the kitchen, saw a table piled up 
with pies of all kinds, and one kind in particular that es- 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 123 

pecially appealed to us, lemon custard meringue. Mrs. 
Carle and I ate a whole pie between us, and it was n't a 
small one either, and thereby hangs the tale. 

After finishing off" the lemon custard, standing around, 
smoking and talking, the fox was finally auctioned off by 
the local auctioneer, and over ^275 realized for the Red 
Cross. 

Then, after a few more delays, etc., the fox was taken 
across the road and dropped. He was a good strong fellow 
and, pointing his mask towards West Chester, disappeared 
over the hill, evidently making for his home earth, on the 
McFadden Farm along the Brandywine. An old white 
bitch was put on the line in a few minutes to keep the fox 
moving, the bitch going off in grand style with much 
tongue, and followed by about twenty of the impatient 
field, who by their impatience spoiled a good run for the 
rest of us. 

After ten minutes more, the barn doors were thrown open 
and out poured, three deep, the greatest collection of hounds 
I ever expect to see, sixty-two and one-half couples, of all 
shapes, sizes, and kinds, from all the neighboring packs, 
namely: Boot Hunt, Hickman Hunt, Stewarts, Sam Kirk's 
West Chester, Whitelands, and Button's hounds. When 
they picked up the line, and even before, they let out a 
roar that could have been heard ten miles across country; 
every "dog" was "doing his bit" to the best of his ability. 
They fairly flew up over the hill, followed, and preceded 
and flanked by a yelling mob of horsemen, that left in 
their wake a stream of broken girths, stirrup-leathers, 
and sprawling farmers. I galloped by three, biting Mother 
Earth, in the space of one field. The fields were a bit soft, 
but good falling, and the going rather deep; also a trifle 
crowded was the one gap in the first fence! 



124 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

Things went quite merrily for say ten minutes to a check 
in Hoopes Brothers and Thomas's Nurseries, or until the 
body of the pack caught up to the white bitch that was do- 
ing her best to hurry Reynard along. 

Enter the lemon custard meringue pie on the scene 
again ! 

During the check, Mrs. Carle's servant, Johnson, came up 
to me saying: "The Madame is feeling sick, and thinks she 
will go home. Sir." I trotted out to the road and found her 
looking a bit done. All she would say was: "Oh, the lemon 
pie, I must go home"; and I might add that one half of a 
perfectly good lemon pie did n't get much farther down the 
road ! It spoiled her day, but gave the rest of us a lot of fun. 

The truth of the old saying, "Too many cooks spoil the 
broth," was very plainly brought home to us from then on, 
for hounds never really settled on the line again, and, after 
picking it up every now and then for a few yards, were 
taken into the P. M. Sharpless estate, where rabbits being 
plentiful, hounds proceeded to enjoy themselves as they 
thought best, three rabbits being on foot at one time, the 
hounds obligingly divided into three packs, and any fox- 
hunter who may read these humble lines can imagine the 
result. 

I hacked back to Goshenville, met my motor, and came 
home, while my poor horse. Tommy, did n't get in until 
six o'clock, having had about ten and one-half hours. 

Among those at the meet were: Mrs. "Dick" Murtagh; 
WycofF Smith; Emanuel Hey; Patrick Corcoran; Francis 
Jacobs; William Brice; M. B. Worth; "Dick" Newlin; 
Mrs. Patterson; Colonel James McComb; R. J. and Mrs. 
Barry; Dr. Oat, of West Chester; Dr. Evans, of Malvern; 
and many good farmer friends that I knew, but do not 
know their names. 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 125 

Saturday, yd April, 1918 
The Huntingdon Valley Hunt made a brave effort to-day 
to have a spring meeting, and under most adverse condi- 
tions; owing to the war, and the softest going imaginable, 
had only three horses at the post in the two principal 
events. 

Captain W. Plunket Stewart's brown gelding, "Mar- 
cellinus," by " D'Arenburg," beautifully ridden by Eddie 
Cheston, won the Huntingdon Valley Plate in a sea of mud, 
from "Riverbreeze" and "Gigantoi," and in the Meadow- 
brook Plate the going was so deep that the stewards de- 
cided to shorten the race from three miles to one and 
a half. Huntingdon Valley Farms' "Whirlwind," with 
C. Darlington up, won from Welsh Strawbridge's "Lake- 
wood." Nelson Buckley's "Blue Mischief," with Eddie 
Cheston riding, pulled up and did not finish. 

"MARYLAND HUNT CUP" 

2yth April, 1918 
A LITTLE Sporting tour away from home is always most 
enjoyable, and especially so when the horse one is backing 
wins; and the consensus of opinion was that there was 
never a more popular win of the Maryland Hunt Cup than 
to-day, when Captain W. Plunket Stewart's "Marcell- 
inus," with Eddie Cheston up, galloped home in front of a 
field of nine. It is an interesting coincidence that during 
the Spanish War, just twenty years ago, and when Plun- 
ket Stewart was also in uniform, his horse "The Squire" 
won this same classic. 

Although the field to-day was not as large as in the pip- 
ing times of peace, it quite made up in quality what it 
lacked in quantity. Mr. Heiser gave his delightful an- 



126 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

nual luncheon previous to the race, and on his broad lawns 
overlooking the course were groups of officers representing 
all the Allied Powers in the Great War, official Washing- 
ton having turned out in force. 

Benjamin H. Brewster, Jr.'s, ** Chuckatuck," who 
finished second to " Brosseau " last year, was backed by a 
good many to win, but was not able to do the trick and 
finished second again, with "Hollander" third, who fell 
early in the game, as did five others, including Mrs. Pearce's 
"Mabo," with Welsh Strawbridge up. 



SEASON OF 1918-1919 



SEASON OF 1918-1919 

The second season of war-time hunting naturally found 
Radnor better able to see its way more clearly than at first. 
The War Master had settled the question of " carrying on," 
and did "carry on" in a most excellent and business-like 
manner. He adjusted his methods to his means and pre- 
served not only the outward appearance of the sport, but 
also the fine spirit and traditions of the Radnor kennels. 

At the close of the previous season. Will Leverton had 
entered the Service, and Mr. Bodine was fortunate in get- 
ting Radnor's ex-huntsman, Will Davis, for the duration 
of the war; but he was much more fortunate in having 
that most popular and splendid horsewoman. Miss Ellen 
Mary Cassatt, as whipper-in for a large part of the time. 

Sport was quite good the season through, I'm told, so 
much so, in fact, that at its close the Master was given a 
complimentary dinner in recognition of the sport he had 
shown, and an effort made to persuade him to retain the 
Mastership another year. 

A good many of us happened to have done our bit for 
our country with the Remount Branch of the Army, and 
to all of them I am sure the following poem by W. J. 
Ogilvie, which appeared in "The Horse and the War," 
will recall many interesting moments: 

THE REMOUNT TRAIN 

Every head across the bar, 
Every blaze and snip and star. 
Every nervous, twitching ear, 
Every soft eye filled with fear, 



I30 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

Seeks a friend, and seems to say: 
"Whither now, and where away?'* 
Seeks a friend and seems to ask: 
"Where the goal, and what the task?" 

Wave the green flag! Let them go! — 
Only horses? Yes, I know; 
But my heart goes down the line 
With them, and their grief is mine! — 
There goes honour, there goes faith, 
Down the way of dule and death. 
Hidden in the cloud that clings 
To the battle- wrath of kings! 

There goes timid child-like trust 
To the burden and the dust! 
High-born courage, princely grace 
To the peril it must face! 
There go stoutness, strength and speed 
To be spent where none shall heed, 
And great hearts to face their fate 
In the clash of human hate! 

Wave the flag, and let them go! 
Hats off to that wistful row 
Of lean heads of brown and bay 
Black and chestnut, roan and grey! 
Here's good luck in lands afar — 
Snow-white streak, and blaze, and star! 
May you find in those far lands 
Kindly hearts and horsemen's hands I 



SEASON OF 1919-1920 



SEASON OF 1919-1920 

1st September, 19 19 
Sabretache, in his "Pictures in the Fire" in The Tatler^ 
gives a very true description of one's feelings when start- 
ing hunting once more after the war. 

"There's a pal or two missing for all of us, is n't there? 
— fellows you've ridden with all day, told your latest 
yarns to, ragged about some girl you think they've been 
keen on, then hacked home long miles in the dark with. 
Can't you see that long wet road with the bare trees meet- 
ing over the top of it and a faint primrose streak the only 
sign of the day that's gone? Can't you hear old John's or 
old Bill's spurs clinking against his irons as he sits with his 
feet hanging loose out of the stirrups to give himself a bit 
of a rest? Can't you see the picture of that bald-faced 
chestnut horse he was riding, with the plaited mane and a 
long bang tail ? Can't you see his hat all bashed in where he 
took it handsomely over that gap, mended with a bit of a 
rail, and an ell of a ditch beyond? Can't you catch the 
smell of the dead leaves and see that derelict harrow in the 
corner of the big plough ? Don't it all sort of come back and 
make you — well, just make you — main unhappy when 
you know you'll never hack back from another day's hunt 
with dear old John or Bill? Just nothing after Festubert, 
and the last man who saw him had his eyes blown out, 
and did n't realize it quite because it was dark." 

Some of us are home again, and how easily we have 
slipped back into all our old pursuits and pleasures. A few 
of us have been even more closely associated with our 
faithful friend, the horse, during the war, than in previous 



134 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

peace-times; and even though familiarity is supposed to 
breed contempt, I'll wager not one foxhunter that was in 
the service has anything but the greatest respect and ad- 
miration for the noble beasts that carried him and worked 
for him during his army career. 

It's quite true, most of them were not hunters, and very 
few of them could have been made into hunters, but they 
gave one a ride whenever one asked, and never groused 
about it. But it was nice to come back and get on your own 
old favorite again, was n't it.'' — even if he did have a big 
hay belly, after having been at grass for eighteen months 
or two years, and grunted and groaned when you first tried 
him in canter? Nothing you had between your knees in 
the army felt quite like him, did it? You patted his neck a 
good half-dozen times that first ride, and probably, if you 
were riding alone, talked to him and told him a lot of things 
that you have n't even told your wife yet; and was n't the 
old fellow glad to have you on his back again? Of course 
he was. He knew it meant hunting again for him, and 
where is the horse, hound, or man who is n't glad to get 
back into that game once more? 

Although cubbing was a bit late in starting, and, even if 
there was no young entry in the kennels to watch, there 
was that same thrill and excitement this morning when 
hounds went out for the first time. It was a typical cub- 
bing morning, inky black and raining a bit, when my horse 
was brought to the door at five-thirty. Then in a minute 
it poured in torrents and I jogged into the carriage house 
and waited a bit, thereby losing several valuable min- 
utes, but finally arriving at the Happy Creek barn just 
as hounds were moving off. 

How natural it all seemed again; the same smiling faces; 
the same hounds, only not so many of them, and mostly 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 135 

the same horses. The Master on a bay; Miss Ellen Mary 
Cassatt, looking more boyish than ever, on "Tango"; 
Gardner Cassatt on "Greymaster"; Will Leverton hunt- 
ing hounds again and riding Horace Hare's "Plainsman"; 
and so on. 

The sixteen and a half couples of dogs and bitches found 
immediately and opened up with a roar that must have 
awakened Harry Harrison or at least made him dream of 
hunting, for they raced around his big cornfield a couple of 
times before straightening the cub away. Then, crossing 
the meadow, they took us towards the far hill, where the 
cub was no doubt turned by Mr. Wain and Ned Dougherty 
who were standing watching the hunt. Hounds swung 
around back to Harrison's, then out left-handed and across 
Hector McNeal's to the Leopard Road, where they dwelt 
a moment. Casting themselves, they came back at a good 
clip to the old mill and on into Yarnall's Hollow, when 
they were taken in owing to the heat. 

Saturday, iSth October, 1919 
Old Square quite regained its pre-war prestige this morn- 
ing, and it was certainly like the good old days to see forty- 
eight people turn out at seven-thirty in the morning for 
cubbing. They were well repaid for their early rising by a 
stout cub from Brooks's Wood that gave a fast fifty min- 
utes' gallop before going under in his home earth. 

There were several strangers out, including F. Ambrose 
Clarke; Frank Voss, who is on here painting a portrait of 
Henry Collins's "Jingo"; Miss Emily P. Welsh, of White 
Marsh, riding Roddy Wanamaker's brown mare; and Miss 
Gertrude Conway. 

Most of us met again in the afternoon at the Hunting- 
don Valley Races, where the sport was only fair. Welsh 



136 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

Strawbridge won the Huntingdon Valley Cup for the third 
time, with " Riverbreeze," while Strassburger's "Wolfer- 
ton II," who was looked upon by some of the talent as the 
winner, ran away with Gerry Leiper the last time around, 
and disappeared down a lane. 

Monday, 20th October, 19 19 
Hounds ran clean away from every one this morning, so 
much so, in fact, that there was no one with them at all 
when they marked their fox under in the drain under the 
road by Louis Meimbresse's quarry. 

Tom Dillon, the stud groom at the Club, was the first 
one there and he was on foot. The fox could be seen in the 
drain, so a rock was put at one end and a kennel boy at the 
other, while we sent back to the kennels for a terrier. 
"Rags," the terrier, was put in, and, much to our surprise, 
came out the other end with no sign of Reynard, and what 
became of him no one ever knew. 

The field came up by degrees, and, just as we were all 
standing around the drain in the narrow road, a man came 
along leading a cow. The cow gave Brose Clarke's horse a 
punch in the ribs with her horns, the horse jumped and 
pulled away from Brose's servant, kicked up at the cow, 
and the ill-matched pair galloped through the crowd, kick- 
ing at each other and causing much commotion. 

Saturday, 2$th October, 1919 
After meeting at Old Square at seven-thirty with scenting 
conditions apparently of the best, hounds could do prac- 
tically nothing with their first fox, which was found in 
Battles's Wood and carried with much difficulty to Innes's 
and then left-handed to Mr. Battles's lawn, where they 
gave it up. 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 137 

Our second draw was Calvert's Swamp, where another 
fox was viewed away down-country, with quite a holding 
scent, hounds carrying him on into Mr. C. C. Harrison's 
meadows, down the creek to the wood on top of the hill, 
then right-handed and back to where we found. Here he 
was viewed again by Higgins, and, circling, took the same 
line as before; crossing the Newtown Road and, pointing 
down-country, took us to Yarnall's Hollow, where another 
fox broke ahead of hounds, the pack splitting and four and 
one-half couples going on the line of the fresh fox. The 
hunted fox then turned up the Hollow, circling back, and 
was finally marked to ground in the hillside by Mrs. Mc- 
Govern's little house, near where we first found him. 

A field of sixty-three out; quite the record for a cubbing 
morning, among them being: Mr. Bodine; John and Mrs. 
Converse; Miss Emily Welsh; Miss Betty Trotter, of 
White Marsh; Misses Ellen Mary and Eugenia Cassatt; 
Ben Chew; Bob and Mrs. Strawbridge; R. Nelson Buckley; 
Roddy and Tommy Wanamaker; Mr. Beale; Gurney 
Munn; Mrs. Howard Henry; A. J. A. Devereux; F. Am- 
brose Clarke; Thornton Baker; Dick McMeely; Bob Mont- 
gomery; Isaac Clothier, and his little daughter on a pony 
that ran away; Miss Gertrude Heckscher; William and 
Mrs. du Pont; and Lowber and Walter Stokes. 

Saturday, 25th October, 19 19 
The Race Committee at Rose Tree, composed of Charles 
A. Dohan, Emanuel Hey, M. Roy Jackson, Walter M. 
Jeffords, M.F.H., and George W. Orton, are very much to 
be congratulated on their meeting of Saturday, which 
every one agreed was quite the best ever given in this sec- 
tion of the country; not only from an artistic standpoint, 
but from a racing one as well. Everything was beautifully 



138 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

done; the grounds and course in good condition, with 
the fences all newly whitewashed; the lawns cut; in 
fact the whole place was turned out like a well-groomed 
horse. 

Sunday papers said ten thousand people were there, and 
I don't believe they were far out of the way. 

The race for the President's Cup brought fifteen horses 
to the post; an exceptional field, not only in numbers, but 
quality; and when one considers that such a high-class 
horse as Mrs. Jeffords's "Dr. Johnson" (by "Sir John 
Johnson" out of "Quack") had to do his best to win, it 
shows that the racing was quite up to the standard of the 
Metropolitan tracks. 

Mr. Strassburger's "Nonesuch" ran second, and Hunt- 
ingdon Valley Farms' "By the Stars," third. 

The last race of the day, the Rose Tree Plate, over the 
post and rail course, brought eight horses to the post. 

Welsh Strawbridge's " Riverbreeze " did not start, owing 
to the weights, as by his recent winnings he would have had 
to carry one hundred and eighty-two pounds, which Welsh 
evidently thought too much. 

Mr. A. F. Hyde's "Little Joe," who won on Wednesday, 
fell early in the game, as did Mr. Jacob R. Ridgway's 
"Dooly," with the owner up. 

Gerry Leiper rode and won on Mr. Strassburger's 
"Wolferton II," while Gilbert Mather was second on Bill 
Clothier's "Brosseau," and Mrs. G. R. D. Schieffelin's 
"Ellistown Boy," a good third, with Harry Tucker up. 

The "Bookies" were out in force and actually giving 
odds, but, sad to relate, one of them welshed with fourteen 
dollars of Miss Helen Dougherty's money during the 
third race. 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 139 

Wednesday, 5th November, 19 19 
While taking a ride this morning, I met hounds coming 
through the covered bridge at the Foxcroft Quarries, so 
went along with them, and my greyhounds, "Ringwood" 
and " Vimy Ridge," who were with me, seeing me go with 
the foxhounds, very sensibly went on home in the opposite 
direction. 

Being a bye-day, the only ones out were Mr. Bodine, 
Bob Strawbridge, Bob, Jr., and Miss Rose Dolan. 

Drawing down-country, we found by the railroad 
bridge, over the Marple Road, the fox going away and 
pointing up-country across the Brook thorpe Farm, then 
left-handed through the wood and out to the Darby Road, 
where hounds ran left-handed again into the wood, on up 
the hill at a very fast pace with beautiful cry, when we 
heard three shots right in front of hounds. On galloping 
over the brow of the hill we came upon two men with guns, 
one of whom said, in very broken English," Dot vas a fine 
fox." Fortunately their three shots had missed, and, after 
a good cursing-out, we left them, being more satisfied than 
ever that a German is not a sportsman and never will be. 

Their shooting checked hounds a moment, but a for- 
ward cast by Will Leverton put them right again, when 
they made another big circle of the farm and finally lost 
their fox down by the meadow on the I than Creek. 

Saturday, 15th November, 19 19 
It would be hard to imagine a more perfectly ideal day for 
hunting than it was this morning, and with the meet at 
Goshen School, which is our farthest up-country fixture, 
every one was quite surprised as well as disappointed when 
hounds moved off, to find they were to draw down -country, 
instead of the Shellbark Hollow and Hershey Mill coverts; 



140 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

for as luck seems to have it, it's generally windy, cold or 
rainy, when we get as far away from home as Goshen. 

In drawing southward from Goshen, we saw Sam Kirk's 
hounds running up-country, our hounds harking to them 
on the hills back of Miss Hook's, where the main body of 
the combined packs checked for a moment; but several of 
us saw a few hounds cross the Goshen road, below Miss 
Hook's, into the swamp, and apparently pointing to But- 
ton's mill, where later the rest of the two packs went, 
making a turn there and carrying the line on back again 
and into Fairy Hill, with the field spread all over the sur- 
rounding country side. 

After drawing Delchester and on to the paper mill, 
and coming back through the southerly side of Delchester, 
another fox went away, giving a good gallop of about 
twelve minutes to Fairy Hill, where he was marked to 
ground at twenty minutes to one o'clock. 

It seemed that most of us down-country people had 
ordered our cars to be at Sugar town at one, so it gave us 
just time to hack back there, send our horses home, and 
motor over to the Pickering Races. 

There was only a moderate field out, including the Mas- 
ter, Miss Ellen Mary Cassatt, Ben Chew, (the Duchess) 
Mrs. Louis Clark, Walter and Dick Stokes, Bob Mont- 
gomery and his daughter, Henry and Mrs. Collins, Miss 
Heckscher, Gurnee Munn, "Roddy" Wanamaker, and 
Tom, the Ashton Boy, Harry Barclay, and Ben Holland; 
but, when we ran into Kirk's hounds, we also met Dave and 
Mrs. Sharp and the Misses Beatrice and Gertrude deCop- 
pet, of New York, who have arrived for the season. They 
were given a great reception and a good deal of ragging 
about being out with Kirk's hounds, when Radnor was 
hunting the same country. 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL I41 

The racing at Pickering was fair; the Point-to-Point be- 
ing quite the best, and won and well ridden by "Bint" 
Toland on his " Standpoint," by "Jack Point " out of " Gold 
Lady," who seemed to have lots up his sleeve at the finish. 

The Pickering Challenge Cup had six starters. Welsh 
Strawbridge on "Riverbreeze"; Clarence Kline on "Rus- 
kin"; "Gerry" Leiper on R. B. Strassburger's "Wolfer- 
ton II"; Tommy Wright on "Whirlwind"; Andy Porter 
on Bill Clothier's "Aldrian"; and "Bint" Toland on 
"Lake-wood." 

It was a nice race until two, "Riverbreeze" and "Lake- 
wood," went down at the fence after crossing the brook; 
then at the lane going into the orchard everybody refused, 
and, in the mix-up, Gerry Leiper broke a stirrup leather, 
putting him out, and "Ruskin" and "Aldrian" were left 
to fight itout, "Aldrian " finally winning. 

Sugartown, 22nd November, 1919 

There were only thirty-six turned up at Sugartown this 
morning; quite a small field for a Saturday; but all that did 
turn out had their money's worth and some to spare, for it 
was one of the real old-fashioned Radnor days with a five- 
mile point and a very gtout fox in front of hounds. 

In drawing up-country we crossed into Hog Lane and 
worked up to the Hershey's Mill Wood, where Ben Chew, 
on the hillside just above the millpond, viewed a big "dog 
fox," as he described it, sitting out in the open. He hol- 
loaed and hounds were brought through the wood, owning 
the line at once, swinging right-handed into the wood, 
then out and down the hill into the meadow, when they 
turned down-country, racing up the opposite hill. 

Just as hounds went away, accidents began to happen, 
so some of us had a bad start. Mr. Bodine in going through 



142 RAD-NOR REMINISCENCES 

the wood ran into a barb-wire fence, his horse plunging and 
kicking, and he calling out, "Stanley, help me! Stanley, 
help me! Get off your horse and help me!" All of which I 
was doing as fast as I could; but he did n't get off, and the 
horse kept on kicking. I finally caught his horse's head, 
when he stopped struggling, and Frank Lloyd took hold of 
his hind leg and untangled the wire; then Mr. Bodine got 
off. It was a nasty cut, but he, fortunately, had a second 
horse out, which he met at a check a few minutes later. 

Just as the Master was in trouble, Mrs. Dave Sharp 
turned over at a small but very awkward fence that had 
a single strand of wire in it. 

Those of us who had been delayed at the start came on 
terms with hounds again in a few minutes at a check on the 
corner of the road to Frazer Station. Hounds racing on 
again down-country over a beautiful line, with enough big 
jumping to suit the most fastidious, and over the fence, 
where Alex. Grange was killed a few years ago, then swing- 
ing right-handed and crossing the pike below the Rush Hos- 
pital, ran on to the covert north of the Sugartown Road, 
through it and into the Malvern Barrens, out the lower 
end, down the long meadow and on into the S. Boyer Davis 
Farm, then left-handed down the brook to William Evans's 
wood, where hounds swung south again, running out to 
and across the road and into Fairy Hill, where most of us 
thought the fox would go to ground. But he apparently 
had no such idea, for he went on through the wood, out 
the upper end and, pointing his mask up-country, gave us 
a good gallop up as far as the wood in the hollow back of 
the Logan Farm, where scent failed completely, and, after 
several unsuccessful casts, hounds were taken home. 

It was an hour and thirty-five minutes of as nice a bit of 
hunting as Radnor has had for many a day. The field was 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 143 

thinned out pretty well towards the end, those having the 
best of it being: The Master (whose vicissitudes, besides 
the affair with the wire, consisted of the side bar breaking 
on his saddle, when he then exchanged saddles with Jack 
Caffery; and then his second horse cast a shoe); Mrs. Bob 
Strawbridge; Ben Chew, riding "Oviat"; Harry Barclay; 
Miss Eugenia Cassatt; Miss Ellen Mary Cassatt, going 
wonderfully, on "Tango"; Gardner Cassatt on "Greymas- 
ter "; Ben Holland; Hinckle Smith, on a " Master of Craft" 
colt; Mr. Beale; Dave and Mrs. Sharp; Miss Beatrice de- 
Coppet, giving a chestnut filly a great school; Dr. Ashton's 
son on a pony; Ned Dougherty; Frank Lloyd on "Sherry"; 
Mrs. Gerry Leiper, who never seems to hurry, but is always 
right with hounds; Nelson Buckley; and Miss Gertrude 
Heckscher, flying the big ones on a new horse just up from 
Baltimore. 

The followmg amusing article about the new outlaw 
pack that is hunting the Radnor country appeared on the 
front page of the Ledger this morning: 

SOCIETY WOMEN TO VIEW FOXHUNT FROM PLANES 

Some Philadelphians prominent socially will view from 
airplanes a novel foxhunt to be given Thanksgiving after- 
noon by the Fox and Hound Club. Each plane will be pi- 
loted by veterans in the air service and will contain one 
passenger. Among the passengers will be Mrs. Barclay H. 
Warburton, Miss Constance Drexel, Miss Isabelle Wana- 
maker. Miss Kitty Smith, Mrs. Dobson Altemus and Mr. 
and Mrs. William du Pont. 

A white streak will be painted on the fox from head to 
tail to enable the aeroists to view the animal in flight. The 
fox was captured some days ago and will be turned loose. 
The brush will be presented to the lucky woman who will 



144 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

be in the first plane at the "kill." The meet, which Starrs 
at 1 1 o'clock, will be followed by a luncheon at 2. 

*' Thanksgiving Day^* — 27/A November, 1919 
It had been two years, owing to the War, since Radnor had 
held its annual Thanksgiving festivities; and, judging by 
the great crowd of people that came, all the horrors of war 
have not lessened their love of horses and hounds. Quite 
the opposite, I would say. 

Instead of having an early breakfast for the farmers to 
start the day, this year's Committee very wisely com- 
menced the programme at nine-thirty with a members' 
jumping class for the President's Cup, over a new course 
laid out by Isaac Clothier. Performance only, counted, and 
Ben Chew's "Oviat," with Roddy Wanamaker up, won 
it by a beautiful performance, with Mrs. Charley Munn's 
grey gelding a good second. 

Then came the farmers' class, which caused much amuse- 
ment and was won by William Evans, Jr.'s, "Blaze." 

Next were the races at Colonel McFadden's farm, and 
the gallery there was even larger than at the kennels. Six 
horses started, "Whirlwind" with "Tommy" Wright up; 
"Royal" ridden by "Eddie" Cheston; "Wolferton 11" 
with Gerry Leiper up, as usual; "Brosseau" under Gilbert 
Mather; "Bill" Whaley, and then "Bill" Clothier on 
"Aldrian." "Brosseau" and "Wolferton" were both even 
money in the betting; but "Brosseau" refused the first 
jump going up the hill at the start, so was out of it imme- 
diately. "Whirlwind" and "Wolferton" set an unusually 
hot pace, and the others soon commenced to go down. 
"Aldrian," with "Bill" Clothier, went down at the far end 
of the course; "Aldrian" breaking his shoulder and having 
to be shot, and "Bill" Clothier breaking his collar bone. 








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A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 145 

Coming towards home from the far side, " Wolferton," who 
was well up in front, had a bad time in the creek, losing 
about twenty lengths; then "Bill" Whaley turned upside 
down with "Andy Porter," a nasty-looking fall, but with 
no bad results. "Royal" fizzed out at the top of the hill 
and " Eddie " Cheston pulled him up, leaving " Whirlwind " 
and "Wolferton" to fight it out; but "Wolferton " had a 
good deal the best of it and won quite easily; Ralph B. 
Strassburger thereby getting a leg on the Radnor Valley 
Farm Challenge Cup. 

R.H.R. "Bint" Toland won the second race, the Mas- 
ter's Cup, with "Lakewood," from a field of eight; after 
which every one went either to Mrs. Brown's luncheon or 
back to the Club to lunch with the farmers. 

At three o'clock hounds met at the kennels, with about 
forty in the field, and nearly as many following in mo- 
tors. After drawing up-country for an hour, a fox went 
away in front of hounds from Harrison's meadow, and, just 
as our pack spoke to the line, we saw Donnon's hounds 
running uj>-country in the opposite direction. Radnor 
hounds came up to the Donnon pack with a beautiful cry 
and evidently scared his mongrel curs out of their wits, 
for they scattered in all directions; so we rode on through 
them down-country to the John Brown farm, on down 
to Yarnall's Hollow, where our fox turned right-handed 
up-country again, by the race track and on through Cal- 
vert's, hounds marking their fox to ground on the hillside 
opposite Mrs. McGovern's, just at dusk, and after a very 
nice thirty-three minutes' gallop. 

Some of those hunting were: The Master; Mrs. Straw- 
bridge and Bob, Jr.; Mr. Beale; "Bint" Toland; Ben 
Chew; William M. Kerr; William Foster Reeve and his 
bride, from Rose Tree; Gardner Cassatt; Gerry and Mrs. 
Leiper; Harry Barclay; and Charley and Mrs. Munn. 



146 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

Saturday, 2gth November, 19 19 
It looked as though it might pour at any moment, when 
hounds met this morning at White Horse at ten o'clock; 
but the wind was from a good quarter for scent, northeast, 
and a field of forty-six turned out, despite the fact that 
the McFadden Ball had kept up until the wee small hours. 

Fairy Hill was the first draw, and, while hounds were in 
covert, Mrs. Munn's groom. Holly, viewed a fox slipping 
out the west side. Will Leverton brought the pack out of 
covert, when they owned the line at once, crossing the 
Bryn Clovis Dairy Farm, over the road and on up-country 
to the hill back of Miss Hook's, where hounds swung left- 
handed, and it looked as though a fresh fox went away in 
front of hounds, as two and a half couples crossed the 
Goshen Road into Dutton's Mill; but the main body of the 
pack, fourteen couples, turned back down-country over 
practically the same line as we had gone up; the fox evi- 
dently going under in his home earth at Fairy Hill. It 
was a good thirty-minute starter for the day. • 

The second fox broke from the lower side of the Mal- 
vern Barrens, at the same instant that one was viewed out 
the upper end. Fortunately, as it was beginning to rain 
quite hard by now, hounds came out of covert on the line 
of the fox that was pointing down-country, and ran with a 
breast-high scent right on his heels down the long meadow 
to the road, over it, bearing slightly left-handed to the 
Boyer Davis Farm, and on into William Evans's wood, 
crossing the creek in the wood and over the hill into Evans's 
big meadow, where hounds were put to their noses, scent 
being quite catchy from there to Cathcart's Rocks. 

In coming out of the White Horse Farm, Bunny Sharp's 
pony slipped in crossing the bridge and went down. Cap- 
tain Count Frassau, of the Italian Army, who was gallop- 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 147 

ing right back of him, jumped over both Bunny and his 
pony. 

On the lower side of the Rocks, scent improved, hounds 
racing down-country through the meadows back of the Leo- 
pard to the Leiper Farm, and crossing the road into the 
swamp to a slight check on the far side, when they carried 
it on to the Baker Farm, hounds marking their fox to earth 
in the rocks on the hilltop, after a very nice forty-three 
minutes. 

The going had been pretty heavy part of the way, and 
every one being wet from the rain, the Master called it a 
day, and hounds were taken in. A pipe of good tobacco 
and a hack back to kennels with Ben Chew completed one 
of the best days oi the season to date. 

Among those in the field were: The Master; Mrs. Straw- 
bridge; Bob Strawbridge, Jr.; Henry and Mrs. Collins; 
Dave and Mrs. Sharp and Bunny; Count Frassau; Mrs. 
Dorothy Taylor, of New York; "Mac" Kennedy, of New 
York; Miss deCoppet; Ned Blabon; Ned Dougherty; Ben 
Holland; Mrs. Gurnee Munn; Mrs. Charley Munn; Ben 
Chew; Bob Montgomery; Miss Helen Hope Montgomery; 
Frank Voss, of New York; Lowber and Walter Stokes: 
Thornton Baker; and Dick McNealy. 

The Annual Meeting of the Club in the evening dragged 
a bit, I thought. The absence of several flights of cock- 
tails before dinner and of an unlimited supply of cham- 
paigne during the meal did not tend to increase the con- 
viviality of the evening. 

Messrs. Thomas G. Ashton, Charlton Yarnall, and Fran- 
cis V. Lloyd were elected to the Board of Governors to 
serve three years, replacing Messrs. Robert E. Straw- 
bridge, Charles A. Munn, Jr., and J. Stanley Reeve, 
whose terms expired. 



148 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

Tuesday, 2nd December, 19 19 
Whenever there's a fox in Mr. Wayne's Wood, it's a good 
even bet the field will have a gallop. They had it to-day, 
and plenty of it. 

Hounds met at eleven at " Waynesboro," and, finding 
immediately, pushed their fox out the north side of the 
covert, and, keeping "Nawbeek" on their right, crossed 
the road with a beautiful cry, but came to their noses in the 
wood for a moment, then, swinging left-handed across the 
wheat-fields with a burning scent, raced towards the Leo- 
pard, their line then turning up-country again to the lower 
edge of Cathcart's Rocks, when, with a holding scent, they 
fairly flew down through "Pick" Harrison's Seventy-Six 
Farm into Lockwood's Hollow, turning right-handed 
through Mr. Pepper's, and crossing the White Horse Road 
into Mr. Yarnall's, on to Mr. Battles's, where, after a 
moment's check in the meadow, hounds turned left again 
through Innes's Wood and into the Delmas Farm, when the 
fox, evidently heading for home, took us through Lock- 
wood's Hollow and back to "Nawbeek"; but apparently 
being turned there, ran through the farmyard and back to 
Cathcart's Rocks, where he probably went to ground; but 
hounds did not mark him in. 

The going in places had been heavy, but pretty good as 
a whole; and hounds ran and horses galloped just an hour 
with practically no checks. 

Most of us came home from there; but hounds drew on 
up-country and later I heard had another boiling run of an 
hour and thirty-five minutes from Sugartown, marking 
their fox under near Rocky Hill, with the horses, that were 
left all cooked to a finish. 

There were about twenty-five out in the morning, but 
hounds found so quickly there was no time to count them. 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 149 

Those in the best ot the first run, besides the Master, were: 
Miss B. deCoppet; Miss Ellen Mary Cassatt; Miss Eu- 
genia Cassatt, going great guns on her new horse, "Lord 
Culpepper"; Miss Rose Dolan; Dave and Mrs. Sharp; 
Ned Blabon; John Converse; Bob and Mrs. Strawbridge 
and Bob, Jr.; Tommy Wanamaker; Henry and Mrs. Col- 
lins; and Ben Holland 

During luncheon at "Woodcrest" on Sunday, the prin- 
cipal topic of conversation naturally being on hunting, the 
hostess told a good story on herself and family that was 
quite apropos. 

It seems that Mrs. Gurnee Munn, while hunting on Sat- 
urday, was riding slowly down a lane behind Mr. Bodine, 
the field being off to one side. 

Mr. Bodine, thinking he was alone, was talking to him- 
self, and, coming to a flight of bars, dismounted to let them 
down, saying to himself as he did so, "Thank God, there 
are no Strawbridges or Munns here now!" 

Needless to say, Mrs. Munn stayed discretly behind a 
stack of corn fodder, but thoroughly enjoyed the remark. 



"SAM KIRK'S BREAKFAST" 

Saturday, i2,th December, 19 19 
Women, they say, date things from the time their babies 
are born (married women, of course), while men now seem 
to date any event as either happening before the War or 
just the other day; so, without looking it up in my diary, 
to see what sort of a run we had the last time Sam Kirk and 
his good wife gave a hunt breakfast, I '11 say to-day's party 
and hunt was quite up to pre-war standards, — yes, and a 
little better than pre-war, barring the weather. If I remem- 
ber rightly, the ground was hard as nails the last time 



I50 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

hounds met there, while to-day it was soft, much too soft; 
in fact so squashy that Laurie Bodine had to call his field 
of sixty-two around him and deliver quite an oration on the 
subject, during which one could hear hounds in covert 
speaking to a line, and I 'm afraid a good many of his fol- 
lowing had their ears pinned back and eyes turned towards 
the wood from which was coming the cry of hounds. 

Every one always did go to Sam Kirk's breakfast, and 
everyone with his wife went to-day, even if it did look as if 
it might pour any minute. There was lots to eat, and lots 
of good farmer friends to say "how-de" to. 

Hounds moved off promptly at eleven, three packs, 
Kirk's, Stuart's, and Radnor, about forty-two couples all 
told. The first draw, William Evans's meadow, being 
blank, hounds moved on up-country to the Malvern Bar- 
rens, when Clyde John and Dr. Evans, who were motoring 
along the Sugar town Road, viewed a fox out the upper end 
of the covert and holloaed to us; at the same instant hounds 
picked up his line and Dr. Evans, taking off his hat, waved 
them on across the meadow to the road, over it, and then 
it was anybody's race from there on. 

Hounds ran straight up to the Rush Hospital meadows, 
swung sharply left-handed through the swamp, keeping 
Mr. Coxe's house on their left, and, crossing the back road 
to Goshen ville, ran down-country nearly to Rocky Hill, 
then, turning right-handed again, they ran clean away 
from us and we had a fast, muddy gallop on the roads for 
about twenty-five minutes, when every one became per- 
fectly plastered with mud from head to toes. Personally, 
I was a mess, one eye full of stones and shut tight, mouth 
full of clay, and hounds clear out of sight and hearing — I 
forgot my ears; they were full of mud, too. I brought home 
a splendid lot of Chester County with me, quite my share. 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 151 

Finally, just beyond Goshen School, we met a farmer who 
said hounds had gone on towards Hershey's Mill, and, gal- 
loping through John Sullivan's farm, we heard them on our 
left; but, by the time we reached the Mill, hounds were 
out of hearing again; then, on going out the King Road, 
we heard them in a wood; but a very angry woman would 
not let us cross her farm, so we had to do more road work 
and make a detour up to the Convent; turning left-handed 
and crossing the railroad beyond Morestein Station, we 
came up with hounds in the Morestein Wood, they having 
marked their fox in a drain. Sam Kirk on a mare Dr. Ash ton 
loaned him, Bill Evans, Jr., and Mrs. Strawbridge were the 
only ones with hounds near the end; all the rest of us be- 
ing quite off to one side. There were about twenty left of 
the sixty-two that started, and a muddier lot I never saw. 
Hounds ran sixty-five minutes, making a five-mile point, 
and covering, according to my map and measuring instru- 
ment, about twelve miles. 

The fog settled down again, it began to drizzle, and the 
eighteen miles home looked pretty long to me, when a cer- 
tain beautiful but much mud-bespattered lady came down 
a lane and cheered me on my way. I remembered my 
sandwich case, so we had a bite to eat and a smoke, and let 
our faithful horses walk for two hours, when I accepted a 
very delightful invitation to tea and sent my good horse 
"Poacher" on home by my servant. 

Among those at the breakfast and hunting were: Mrs. 
Archibald Thomson, motoring; Mr. Davis S. B. Chew on 
"Cambridge"; The Master; John H. Converse; "Randy" 
Snowden; Henry and Mrs. Collins; Edward Ilsley, in a 
motor; the Misses Beatrice and "Diana" deCoppet; Ned 
Blabon; Dave and Mrs. Sharp; Bob and Mrs. Strawbridge 
and Bob, Jr.; Mr. Beale: Ben Holland; Max Livingston, Jr., 



152 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

in a motor; Frank Lloyd; Bunny Sharp and Charlie Har- 
rison on ponies; Miss du Pont; William and Mrs. du Pont; 
and Roddy Wanamaker. 

Saturday, 27th December, 1919 

It's a long cr\' on a frosty, blue-nozed, ground-as-hard-as- 
nails sort of morning, from my house to Sugartown; but, 
as I cut my chin on the right side when shaving this morn- 
ing, I knew something was going to happen before the day 
was over. It did, too, and, besides, a meet at Sugartown has 
one advantage; one is able to do a bit of the family market- 
ing at Clyde John's store. To-day it was "cob honey," as 
the children call it, that the Missus called out to me as I 
was leaving home. I 'm always in a hurry to get started to 
a meet, after ha\ing seen my horse go on about two hours' 
before. It was looking at my horse going out through a 
corner of the hedge, with one eye, and trying to keep the 
other on the progress of a razor, that accounted for the cut 
on my chin, I 'm afraid. Nevertheless, things began to hap- 
pen promptly on arrival at the meet. 

A chauffeur was raked over the coals by a very irate 
M.F.H. immediately on arrival; then a certain very beau- 
tiful lady, much to her disgust, had her veil torn off by the 
branch of a tree, in the first covert that hounds plus the 
field drew. 

The scene for Act Number 3 was laid outside the Mal- 
vern Barrens, the curtain dropping on a crestfallen and 
sad, but none the less lovely, lady, who had been requested 
to make less noise. 

About an hour later, sandwiches ha\ing been finished 
and hounds working down-country to Dr. Bartholomew's, 
a fox was viewed away, and we had a fast twenty minutes 
through Baker's and on up through Hawthorne to 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 153 

Waynesboro, where hounds swung left-handed, came 
down-country through Sachse's swamp, out to the Leo- 
pard and back to Dr. Bartholomew's, where comedy 
turned to tragedy, and after a few uncensored words be- 
tween a prominent Master of Fox Hounds and an ex-Mas- 
ter, and after one Master had been invited to visit in a 
warmer climate than we have at Radnor in December, one 
ex-M.F.H. was sent home from school. 

Fortunately, the fumes of brimstone did not spoil 
scent; the wind was in our favor; but so interested was the 
field in the drama of the moment, that when the curtain 
was lowered on scene Number 4, and the leading man (af- 
ter a short speech to his interested audience) had taken his 
departure, hounds were nearly out of sight and hearing and 
racing up-country. 

We came on terms with them in the Hawthorne Woods 
where the Master of Hawthorne could not resist the temp- 
tation of going home to lunch. 

Hounds made another big circle around the country, 
bringing their fox through Hawthorne again, but by this 
time the Master of Hawthorne had satisfied the inner man, 
and the cry of hounds disturbing his after-dinner nap, be- 
took himself to the window, saw Reynard crossing the 
meadow, and the inner man consenting, caught hounds at 
Mr. Wayne's on a fresh horse and had another hour of 
hunting. 

Hounds ran their fox three hours and five minutes, 
making three circles of the country. Scent was catchy after 
the first loop. 

Saturday, loth January, 1920 
Can't you feel what it was like, even if you were not at 
White Horse this morning at eleven o'clock? The glass 



154 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

stood at 20°; the ground was like a bone; and the wind blow- 
ing a gale. Long waits outside covert; icy cold fingers and 
no gallop until two o'clock, fast or far enough to take the 
edge off a colt one could only just hold. But then the re- 
mainder of the day quite made up for all the earlier in- 
conveniences; and think how good you felt after you 'd had 
a hot bath, stuck a piece of court plaster on your nose, and 
had your dinner. 

That 's the charm of foxhunting; even after a bad day 
full of disappointments, have you ever met a man or 
woman who was really keen, who was not ready to go and 
do it all over again.'' Your appetite grows upon what it 
feeds upon, like Antony's did for Cleo. 

However, our first draw was Fairy Hill, and the fair 
vixen who lives there refused to be driven out over the 
hills; so after a ten minutes' circle of the wood, she went 
to ground. We then pottered all about the country until five 
minutes after two, when Frank Smith viewed a fox away 
from the lower end of the Malvern Barrens. Hounds owned 
the line at once, crossing the road and, turning south, ran 
at top speed through the Boyer Davis Farm to "Bill'* 
Evans's Wood, and on down to Cathcart's Rocks, where 
they turned left-handed and fairly flew back to the Sugar- 
town end of the Barrens. Here we viewed Reynard cross- 
ing a wheat-field with one hound way out in front of the 
pack and only about fifty yards behind him. 

Either the excitement of the view, or something, I don't 
know what, made the great majority of our field take the 
wrong line, for they never saw hounds again; and seven of 
us, Henry Collins, Harry Barclay, Malcolm Lloyd, Gard- 
ner Cassatt, Ben Holland, and Mr. Beale, had the thing 
all to ourselves for over an hour. 

Barring the bad going, it was a beautiful gallop, for 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 155 

hounds ran down to the lower end of the wood, then out 
right-handed and, keeping Evans's Wood on their right, 
raced across the meadows to the White Horse Farm and on 
to Cathcart's Rocks, then, turning sharply left-handed, 
ran back over the hill into the Davis Farm and finally to 
Evans's meadow, where we met Will Leverton looking for 
hounds, and his horse, with a touch of colic, or something, 
as he wanted to lie down every time Will would stop. Will 
told us every one had gone home, so hounds were whipped 
off and we called it a day, having had an hour and thirty- 
two minutes, all of it pretty fast and the going atrocious. 

There were over forty in the field, including: Mr. Bo- 
dine; Mr. Beale; Bill and Mrs. Rolin; Dick and Wal- 
ter Stokes; Miss Eugenia Cassatt; John Converse and 
"Randy" Snowden; Ben Holland; Hector McNeal and his 
daughter; Oswald Chew, on a new horse he had just bought 
from Dave Sharp; Dave Sharp; Frank Lloyd; Henry Col- 
lins; Gardner Cassatt; Gerry Leiper; "Buck" and Ned 
Dougherty. 

"Gladeye," one of our best bitches, and who, with her 
litter sister "Gladys," won the class for best couple of 
bitches in the last Bryn Mawr Hound Show, met with 
an accident to-day, and somehow cut the cushion entirely 
out of a hind foot. "Gladeye" and "Gladys" also won 
the hound class at Mrs. Clothier's Pony and Dog Show a 
couple of years ago. 

Tuesday, i^th January, 1920 
"A SOUTHERLY Wind and a cloudy sky, proclaim it a hunt- 
ing morning." So says the old song. A southerly wind may 
be all right in England, but it's not supposed to be a good 
sign in this part of the world. The cloudy sky is all right, 
though. 



156 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

I was rather glad when I saw the wind was from the 
south this morning, for the ground was much too hard and 
icy to have to gallop over very fast; and, as it turned out, 
scent was just catchy enough to keep hounds well to their 
noses, so by keeping on the inside of the circle one could go 
along at a nice hand gallop, yet keep right alongside of them. 

The meet was at the Happy Creek Farms barn at 
eleven o'clock, and at twelve minutes past eleven hounds 
spoke to a cold line in Mr. Harrison's big field, carrying 
it slowly down the meadow and across the brook up the 
opposite hillside and on into Calvert's Wood; then, cross- 
ing into Bioren's Swamp, turned left-handed at the 
Newtown Road and ran quite fast across John Calvert's 
into Mr. John Brown's wood; crossing the creek, keeping 
the mill on their left; they ran on into Mr. Harrison's 
meadows again, and, swinging left-handed, went through 
Hector McNeal's and Dr. Bartholomew's. Crossing the 
Leopard Road into the Leiber Farm, they sank the vale 
into Lockwood's Hollow, going on over George Pepper's 
into the Delmas place, where, at quite a check, several of 
us pulled out and came home, having had an hour and 
twenty minutes. 

There was only a small field out, including the Master; 
Miss Ellen Mary Cassatt on "Greymaster"; Miss Alex. 
Dolan on Arthur White's grey; Miss Harriet Brown, of 
Baltimore, very beautiful and riding a chestnut of Frank 
Lloyd's; Ned Dougherty on his chestnut mare; and Nelson 
Buckley and Henry Collins. 

Saturday, 14th February, 1920 
After having been stopped by snow and ice since January 
13th, hounds met at the kennels at one o'clock to see if 
they could run on top of the crust of the snow, and possibly 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 157 

give us a bit of music, even if we could n't stay with them; 
but, after drawing Mrs. Clyde's and Bob Montgomery's 
coverts blank, and finding the going about as bad as 
possible, a fox went away from Yarnall's Hollow; and, 
bad as the going was, it was a relief to get out again and 
to have a run down-country after a season of hunting 
over practically the same section of country since early in 
October. 

Good as our early season was, it was a bit monotonous at 
times, as practically every run has been in the same imme- 
diate neighborhood. 

Scent was quite good at first, and, after racing down the 
hillside and crossing the breast of the dam, hounds pushed 
on through Mr. Earle's wood with a beautiful cry, and, 
crossing the Goshen Road into the Hospital Farm, were 
brought to their noses; then, working it at a fair pace to 
the Radnor Barrens, they ran on to a slight check at Saw 
Mill Hill, when, after crossing the Radnor and Chester 
Road, they raced on to Bromall, and, keeping Dan Con- 
ner's farmhouse on their left, turned back over the Chester 
Road and took us quite fast into the Barrens, over Bryn 
Mawr Avenue and the Hospital Farm to Old Square, 
where they gave it up. 

Our horses were about ready to give it up, too, as they had 
been galloping through the snow up to their knees for an 
hour and fifteen minutes. 

There were only eight out, including the Master; Mrs. 
Valentine on "Lone Ben"; Harry Barclay on "Jerry Ro- 
han"; Miss Ellen Mary Cassatt on Miss Eugenia Cassatt's 
new chestnut; George Brooke HI, and Thornton Baker, 
and Oswald Chew. 

When we pulled up at Old Square, we could hear an- 
other pack of hounds in full cry, farther on up-country. 



158 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

finding out later on that they were the Rose Tree, having: 
brought a fox over from Broadlawn. 

Thursday, iSth March, 1920 
Hounds not having had anything top-hole for so long, 
owing to the bad weather, it was a relief to-day to see them 
really go, even if the going was such that a horse could 
barely live with them. It was quite knee-deep in places 
and in good shoe-pulling mud. 

Meeting at the Happy Creek Farms barn at one-thirty, 
hounds found very shortly in the swamp back of Mrs. 
McGovern's, and, crossing the Paoli Road, raced into Dr. 
Bartholomew's, crossing the Leopard road into Lockwood's 
Hollow, and on to Cathcart's Rocks, to Fairy Hill, then 
straight up-country to Miss Hook's corner, where they 
gave it up, scent failing completely. 

It was a seven-and-a-quarter-mile point, done in fifty- 
three minutes, which, considering the condition of the 
ground, was not bad at all. Hounds never dwelt a mo- 
ment from the time they found. 

There was only a small field out; besides the Master, 
there being: Miss Ellen Mary Cassatt on " Hopewell " ; Miss 
Eugenia Cassatt on "Lord Culpepper"; the Secretary, 
Walter Stokes; Gerry Leiper; Nelson Buckley; and Arthur 
Meigs. 

Saturday, 20th March, 1920 
Although the going to-day was hock-deep in places and 
fetlock-deep everywhere, hounds ran and horses galloped 
an hour and twenty-five minutes in the hilliest part of our 
country. But the air had a good crisp snap to it, and, if 
hounds checked a moment on the windy hilltops, one had 
to keep on the move at once to keep from shivering. 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 159 

Scent was breast-high for the first hour, but, as hounds 
pushed their fox farther up-country, where the high wind 
had more of a sweep, they were put to their noses, and sel- 
dom have I seen a pack work more industriously. O'Mal- 
ley Knott, of New York, who was riding one of Geoffery 
Tower's Canadian horses, and whose first day it was with 
Radnor, remarked several times what a hard-working pack 
it was and what a beautiful cry they had. Personally, I 
thought Will Leverton hunted them as well as I had ever 
seen him do the trick. 

Hounds pushed their fox out of the Brookthorpe Spin- 
ney with a wonderful burst of music, the whole field view- 
ing him away, a very light-colored fox; and, taking him out 
to the Chimney Corner, swung left-handed to the Darby 
Creek, and, following it down to the golf course, turned 
back, and, racing at top speed over Brookthorpe, swam the 
creek and fairly fiew over the hill to Foxcroft and to the 
Radnor Barrens, and, on crossing the railroad into the Hos- 
pital Farm, were brought to their noses for the first time. 
Dwelling a moment on the hilltop, they sank the valley 
into Broad Acres and worked it out rather slowly to Yar- 
nall's Hollow, where hounds overshot the line; and, at the 
moment's breathing spell, a certain Mr. X came trotting 
up with his horse's head covered with mud, which told the 
tale of his wanderings as plainly as those of a certain Mr. 
Y, of Radnor, who one night quite recently at a ball disap- 
peared for some time, as did a certain most fascinating 
young lady we all know. Upon Mr. Y's return to the ball- 
room there were large particles of scarlet on his lips of the 
same hue as the passionate lips of his fair companion. Be 
that as it may. Will Leverton made a backward cast and 
hounds raced away once more, crossed the road and ran to 
the John Brown Wood where they gave it up completely. 



i6o RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

The horses had all had enough, if we had n't, so we 
jogged back to the kennels for lunch, which seemed quite 
like the good old days. 

Among the field were: Mr. Bodine; Miss Cassatt, going 
great guns on "Hopewell"; Gerry Leiper on a chestnut 
colt; Frank Lloyd on "Sherry"; Miss Eugenia Cassatt; 
Arthur Meigs; O'Malley Knott; Miss Stevens, of the 
Essex Hunt; Jack Lucas; Geoffery Tower; "Dick" Stokes; 
Bob Montgomery on a big brown horse, Walter Stokes; and 
John Converse on a very nice galloping grey. 

Tuesday, 2zrd March, 1920 

Five years ago to-day — but it does n't seem that long ago 
— Radnor hounds had one of their greatest runs on record; 
and to-day, barring the awful going, had two really top- 
hole runs. 

Meeting at Happy Creek Farms at one-thirty, hounds 
found their first fox in the Railroad Farm, and, swinging 
down country to Yarnall's Hollow and Mr. Earle's hill- 
top, turned back and marked their fox to ground in Mr. 
Brown's lower drain, after thirty-five minutes of very nice 
work, but extremely heavy galloping. 

The next draw was Dr. Bartholomew's Wood, where a 
light-colored fox was viewed away from the upper end, 
hounds owning the line, and, carrying it up-country to 
the Hawthorne Wood, circled back through Burnham's, 
skirted the lake and raced back to where we found, then, 
crossing the Leopard Road, ran very fast through Lock- 
wood's Hollow to Cathcart's Rocks over the White Horse 
Farm to Evans's meadow, where hounds turned left- 
handed back to Mr. Cuyler's, and, crossing the road at the 
red bridge, followed the creek through Mr. Yarnall's and 
out to the Goshen Road, where they dwelt a moment, and, 




Photograph by Harry S. Hood 

MISS EUGENIA KELSO CASSATT ON " LORD CULPEPPER 
AND HENRY C. BARCLAY, ESQ., ON " JERRY ROHAN" 

1921 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL i6i 

as all the horses were completely done, hounds were 
brought home. We thought the going bad on Thursday 
and Saturday of last week, but it was much more holding 
to-day, horses laboring at every stride, which to me takes a 
great deal of the pleasure out of a gallop. However, only one 
horse was broken down, but most all were cooked. Be- 
sides the Master, on one of his bays, there were Ben Chew 
on " Oviat " ; Miss Cassatt on " Hopewell " ; Bob Montgom- 
ery; Walter Stokes; Gardner Cassatt on "Greymaster"; 
Harry Barclay on his brown horse; John Converse on " Win- 
gate"; Nelson Buckley; Miss Eugenia Cassatt on "Lord 
Culpepper"; Arthur Meigs; Frank and Malcolm Lloyd; 
and Bunny Sharp, who appeared on a pony as we went 
through Hawthorne. 

Saturday, 2'jth March, 1920 
It 's all over now for the present, or until next August or 
September, and to-day's run, the last of the season, was 
not the least of the season by a long shot, even if the end of 
it was most unsatisfactory. 

No more — at least not for many moons — shall we ride 
home muddy, but glorious, fifteen or twenty miles in the 
drenching rain. No more shall we get off and lead awhile, 
say a couple of miles, because your faithful gee has cast a 
near front shoe, and the motor you telephoned for fails to 
put in its appearance at about the exact spot you figured it 
out in your mind you would meet it. 

But the fox we galloped through the mud after to-day 
was very evidently a visiting lad, making a call probably to 
look over the results of former visits, when his thoughts 
had been more of love than Mr. Farmer's hen-roost; and 
for the future of hunting, let 's hope he found the family 
large and thriving, as I 'm told it is in this particular wood. 



1 62 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

After finding several coverts blank, a fox was viewed out 
of Merrick's Swamp, not fifty yards in front of hounds, 
and, pointing his mask towards Lockwood's Hollow, took 
us through some of the deepest going I 've ever had the 
misfortune to see; but, turning right-handed in Mr. Pep- 
per's, hounds ran parallel to the White Horse Road, which 
gave us a chance to come on terms with them again at Cath- 
cart's Rocks; then fairly flying over the White Horse Farm 
to Fairy Hill. 

The country was so deep that horses could not sray 
with hounds, and they ran clear away from us all. Had it 
not been for the assistance of kindly farmers, I doubt if we 
would have found them again all day. A man ploughing at 
Rocky Hill waved us on towards Milltown, and, just be- 
fore reaching there, another man in a cart said hounds 
were right back of their fox and heading for the Westtown 
School, so crossing the pike below Milltown, and bearing 
westerly, we were much relieved to see hounds going over 
the hill just beyond the Tanguey Store, and, on coming up 
to them soon after at a check on the Peter's Farm at West- 
town Station, found that they were six couples short; but, 
while Will Leverton was casting, we heard hounds on ahead 
of us and saw them going up a hillside about a mile beyond 
the station. No attempt was made to get to them, and the 
remainder of the pack that we were with were taken home 
on the pretext that the hounds in front were not part of our 
pack. Maybe they were, and maybe they were not, but we 
foolishly waited around arguing the question, until the 
forward hounds were out of sight and hearing, and too far 
away to make a try for them on horses that had been gal- 
loping through mud for sixty-five minutes at top speed, so 
we all started for home. 

It was an eight-and-a-half-mile point, and we un- 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 163 

doubtedly missed making an historic run of it by not go- 
ing on after the six couples that were in front of us, and 
were heading straight towards the Brandywine. 

It was a long but pleasant hack home for the few that 
survived, who, besides the Master, were: Gerry Leiper on 
"Miss Ebony"; Miss Ellen Mary Cassatt on the Master's 
"Richmond"; Harry Barclay on "Jerry Rohan"; Bob 
Montgomery; Randy Snowden on "Uncle Sam"; Miss 
Eugenia Cassatt; John Converse; and Frank Lloyd. 



SUNNYBROOK FARM 

Thursday, 22nd April, 1920 
In my early youth I was brought up to believe an oasis was 
a beautiful place with flowers and lots of bubbling water; 
and now that I am supposed to have reached that age 
when one puts away childish thoughts, I find that my 
childhood's definition was pretty near right; but I never 
knew until last night that a real bona-fide foxhunting oasis, 
laden with flowers and flowing with bubbly water, ex- 
isted so near at hand as Isaac H. Clothier's Sunnybrook 
Farm at Radnor. 

Webster says an oasis is "A fertile spot in a barren, 
sandy desert " ; and as dryness is supposed to make a desert 
— but why go on like this, let 's get to the point of the thing. 

About a month ago our good Quaker sportsman, Isaac, 
invited us to this delightful dinner, to meet S. Laurence 
Bodine, M.F.H., Radnor Hunt, and the birds that mi- 
grate in the spring had all brought wonderful stories of the 
bubbling water of life that they had tasted at Sunnybrook. 

There were thirty-five scarlet-coated foxhunters, be- 
sides our host and his guest of honor, and from Mar- 
tinis to Corona Coronas there was not a check. The field 



1^4 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

master of the evening, Mr. Beale, did not have a blank 
draw, every covert produced good sport. Croppers there 
were, of course, but what good sporting run does not pro- 
duce a few, especially when crossing such stiff country? 

A few of the unanswered questions of the evening were: 

Where did Mr. Erdenheim get his shirt? 

Exactly what was it Mr. Delchester wanted Mr. Har- 
ford to explain? 

Why does Mr. Wingate sleep in a motor? 

Who ran into the rocks? 

Who made Mr. Hawthorne deaf? 

Among the others present were: Colonel J. Franklin Mc- 
Fadden, Messrs. W. Plunket Stewart, John R. Valentine, 
John W. Converse, Walter Stokes, Edward F. Beale, 
Charles E. Coxe, Frederick Phillips, Christian A. Hagen, 
A. J. A. Devereux, Edward B. Chase, William J. Clothier, 
Morris L. Clothier, Rowland Comly, Edwin V. Dougherty, 
Dr. Thomas G. Ashton, David B. Sharp, Henry L. Col- 
lins, R. Nelson Buckley, James G. Leiper, Jr., Edward 
Ilsley, Jacob S. Wain, William M. Kerr. 

MARYLAND HUNT CUP 

24/A April, 1920 
The ten-thirty train to Baltimore this morning seemed 
quite like a big foxhunting family party off on a spree. 
Even the colored porter of the parlor car was all smiles, and 
confided to me, when nearing our destination, that "Mis- 
ter Stewart is the finest gentleman that ever travels on 
this road." 

After luncheon at the Belvedere, we motored out to 
Captain John Ridgely's lovely old place, Hampton, in time 
to walk over the course, and have a look at the fourteen 
starters before the race. 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 165 

Mr. Foxhall P. Keene's "Masterful," standing in his 
box, looked pretty good to many of the crowd and was 
quite a favorite in the betting, as was Mr. Strassburger's 
"Wolferton II" and Mr. Fenwick's "Margery Jaque." 
Some of the Philadelphia contingent still pinned their 
faith to Mr. Clothier's "Brosseau," despite his poor show- 
ing at White Marsh a week ago; but many admiring eyes 
were turned towards Mrs. Maddox's grey gelding, "Ora- 
cle II," on which the odds were 10 to i. The fourteen, in- 
cluding "Oracle II," "Jidgie," "Wolferton II," "Lake- 
wood," "Masterful," "Margery Jaque," "Flashy Jake," 
"Hollander," "Jack Senhouse," " Manchu," "Mabo," 
"Brosseau," " Bill Whaley," and "Ruskin," were gotten 
away nicely. "Bill Whaley" hit the second fence pretty 
hard and lost his rider, Mr. J. N. Ewing, but "Bill Wha- 
ley" went on, leading the field, and, coming down the hill 
into the valley, refused the brook, and, turning sharply to 
the right, ran into "Margery Jaque," throwing her. Mr, 
Thompson was up and on again in less time than it takes 
to write it, but with "Masterful" now a good fifty lengths 
in the lead and galloping easily up the hill. "Master- 
ful" was still well in front when they came through the 
Hampton farmyard, but stopped at the fence out of the 
plough, causing quite a mix-up; then, when they came 
round again to the in-and-out, they all jumped in, but all 
also refused to jump out. Finally Major Arthur White 
on "Oracle" gave them a lead, which he kept to the fin- 
ish with "Wolferton," Mr. George Blakiston, Jr., up, a 
close second, followed by "Margery Jaque" and "Lake- 
wood," third and fourth respectively. 

Tea at Hampton after the race was most delightful, as 
was the remark of the old greyhaired, colored butler, who 
said to our hostess, as we were going to the dining-room, 



1 66 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

"Miss Alice, that bowl of punch on the window-sill is for 
you and your friends; it has more body to it than the bowl 
on the table!" 

After a toast to the ladies, foxhunting, and "Oracle II,** 
and a stroll through the lovely gardens of Hampton, we 
motored back to Baltimore and dined on the train. 

Among the cosmopolitan throng that the Maryland 
Hunt Cup always attracts were: Mrs. Henry Bell, Miss 
Ridgely, Mrs. Ridgely, Brose and Mrs. Clarke, "Foxy** 
Keene, Arthur Hall, Victor and Mrs. Mather, Ben Chew, 
Miss Welsh, W. W. Lanahan, Redmond C. Steward, T. 
Courtney Jenkins, W. Plunket Stewart, Devy and Mrs. 
Devereux, Govey Cadwalader, Gerry Leiper, George and 
Mrs. Saportas, Bill and Mrs. Clothier, Mrs. Henry, Ned 
Ilsley, Dal and Mrs. Dixon, Miss Letty McKim, Jim Mad- 
dox, B. H. Brewster, Jr., John Bosley, Jr., Billy Wilbur, 
Gilbert Mather, Miss Mather, Mrs. Strassburger, " Bint'* 
Toland, Mrs. Meyers Pierce, Clarence Kline, Frank Bonsai, 
Eugene Levering, Jr., " Mack " Kennedy, Geoffery Tower, 
Harry Renwick, Al and Mrs. Davis, and Bob Strawbridge. 

Attend, ye farmers, to this tale, 
And when ye mend the broken rail. 
Reflect with pleasure on a sport, 
That lures your landlord from the court, 
To dwell and spend his rents among 
The country folk from whom they sprung- 
And should his steed with trampling feet, 
Be urged across your tender wheat. 
That steed, perchance, by you was bred. 
And yours the corn by which he's fed. 
Ah! then restrain your rising ire. 
Nor rashly curse the hunting squire. 

Warburton 



SEASON OF 1920-1921 



SEASON OF 1920-1921 

CUBBING— 1920 

As Sabretache in The Taller once said: 

" There 's no use beating about the bush; one might just 
as well come right out and 'fess up like a man, and admit 
that there is only one real sport, and that is the pursuit 
of Charles James Fox. 

"You may fool yourself, about the first of April, into 
thinking that you want to go fishing, so fishing you go; 
and it's a good ten-to-one shot that they won't bite that 
day, and they don't; but you can think up a good reason 
why, and, besides, you 've had a nice day in the open, and 
smelled a lot of good meadow and marshy smells. But two 
or three such days, and you put the fishing kit away; and 
then later on maybe try a bit of yachting; but yachting 
needs two very important things, a regular girl to amuse 
you, and a dead certainty that you are not going to get 
seasick; and if Dame Fortune favors you and you don't get 
seasick, you spend most of your idle moments thinking of 
hunting. So that only goes to prove it's the one and only 
sport; and, besides, what else can a decent-minded man 
think of but the fox? 

"So here it is, the first of September again, and the gees 
have been up from grass for five weeks, and squeal and 
buck every time you go out for a ride. You know for sure 
where there are several splendid litters of cubs, and when 
that first morning comes, it's a bit sultry, hot, and very 
wet; but the thrill you get when they all open up on the 
line at once, and just in the very spot where you have 
known they would for weeks ahead! Well, it's here again 



170 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

at last, and another season is on, so sit down in your saddle 
and keep his head straight." 

My first day of the season was with the Cheshire, on 
August 19th. 

Frank Dare brought out a mixed pack of twenty-seven 
couples. The most hospitable Master, Mr. Kerr, and my- 
self constituted the field. The wood which hounds drew 
was full of cubs. We viewed them in all directions, and af- 
ter an hour and a half of very interesting work, went in. 

The season at Radnor opened on September ist, and, 
barring some dry weather in October, the prospects were 
most promising. 

Will Leverton brought out a beautiful young entry that 
went to their work in pretty good style. Some of them 
were a bit riotous at times; but what puppies are not, 
when tempted by a nice fat bunny running in front of 
them ? 

Saturday, gth October, 1920 

For a cubbing morning and a seven o'clock meet up- 
country, there was quite a fair-sized field out, thirty-five, I 
counted one time, but not at the end of the very nice 
twenty-three minutes' gallop, I assure you. 

After drawing the Hawthorne and several other coverts 
blank, hounds picked up a cold and spotty line in Lock- 
wood's Hollow, and, working it with great difficulty, car- 
ried it with several bursts of music to Cathcart's Rocks, 
where they swung sharply left-handed and went away at 
good pace with one hound quite far out in the lead, across 
the Seventy-Six Farm into Lockwood's, then through the 
Delmas lane and over the White Horse Road into Innes's 
Wood, to Brooks's, throwing it up near the du Pont barns 
at Centre Square. Every one was dripping, including the 
horses, and all had had enough. 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 171 

It was the first time this season that there had been 
what one might call a representative Radnor field out, 
including W. Plunket Stewart, M.F.H. Cheshire, giving 
my "Locust Grove" a beautiful ride; Benjamin Chew on 
"Oviate"; Mrs. Sharp on the Master of Hawthorne's pet, 
" Michael' ' ; John Converse on a green one, "Randy" Snow- 
den; Gardner Cassatt on "Greymaster"; Frank Lloyd on 
"Sherry"; Miss Heckscher; Bob Strawbridge; Miss Straw- 
bridge, whose horse, unfortunately, went down in a blind 
ditch and put her out of it at the start; Brose Clark on a 
black thoroughbred; William Carter; Miss Eugenia Cassatt 
on her "Lord Salisbury"; William M. Kerr, riding a lovely 
brown green one, and his solemn nephew going like a vet- 
eran; Thornton Baker; and Miss Alex. Dolan. 

A few of us had breakfast at the kennels, hurrying on 
home for an early luncheon before the White Marsh Races 
in the afternoon, which barring the long delays between 
events, was quite top-hole; then a good many of us met 
again at dinner after the races at Dick Cadwalader's at 
Camp Hill, making altogether a first-class sporting day. 

Thursday, 21st October, 1920 
With a thick blanket of fog obscuring the whole country- 
side, hounds were held at the meet at Miss Heckscher's 
this morning for a few minutes beyond the scheduled six 
o'clock. 

The air and everything else was saturated with moisture, 
scent heki like a charm, and hounds fairly ran their legs 
off; but, go as fast as they could, they could n't catch the 
Brooks's Wood fox, even if he did stay above ground forty- 
five minutes, which is ten minutes longer than he ever did 
before. 

To-day, hounds ran him from Brooks's to Innes's and 



172 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

back around the same circle three times, finally marking 
him to ground on the hillside of Innes's Wood. 

To make the morning quite complete, we should have 
dug him out and taught this cub a lesson. However, it was 
a pretty satisfactory morning; every one, including the 
horses, had a good sweat and one was home in time for 
breakfast. 

MAN-O'-WAR 

23rJ October, 1920 
With cubbing in the early morning, Mrs. J. Gardner Cas- 
satt's breakfast at Kelso at twelve-thirty, the Rose Tree 
Races in the afternoon, and Mr. and Mrs. Riddle's supper 
at Glen Riddle, in honor of " Man-o'-War," in the evening, 
made a pretty full (but not the kind of full you mean) and 
most enjoyable sporting day, even if it was too dry for any 
sort of a run with hounds. 

Breakfast on the terrace at Kelso was delightful; the 
racing quite up to the Rose Tree high standard, especially 
the running of the Rose Tree Plate, which brought thirteen 
good, cross-country horses before the starter, including 
Mr. Preece's " Son-of-a-Gun," Gerry Leiper's "Ranger," 
Antelo Devereux's " Semper Fortis " and " Rose of Ireland,'* 
"Bill" Clothier's "Brosseau" and "Bill Whaley," "Bint" 
Toland's "Lakewood" and "Standpoint," Welsh Straw- 
bridge's "Riverbreeze," Strassburger's "Wolferton II," 
"Buzzy" Smith's "Irish Heather," Ridgeway's "Dooley," 
and Nelson Buckley's "Duster." 

"Wolferton II," with Tommy Wright up, finished first, 
but was afterwards disqualified and the race given to 
"Dooley," with second money to "Brosseau." 

After supper at Glen Riddle, and after every one had 
had a drink from "Man-o'-War's" Canadian Gold Cup, 




Photograph by Harry S. Hood 

Left to right: R. CLIFTON LISLE, ESQ^.; MISS GERTRUDE S, HECKSCHER 

ROBERT E. BROOKE, ESQ. 

At a meet of the Radnor Hounds at Hawthorne Farm, December, 1920 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 173 

we were taken to the garage to see the moving pictures of 
the great ^75,000 match race with Sir Barton at Windsor. 
It was really a remarkable picture, and altogether so en- 
joyable an evening, that no one who was there will ever 
forget it. "Man-o'-War's" name is carved in the annals of 
the " Sport of Kings " for all time, and written in the minds 
of our present generation alongside those of our lovable 
host and hostess of Glen Riddle. 

At dinner the other evening I asked Mrs. Cooke (Amory 
Hare) to write a poem for my journal, and, true to her, fox- 
hunting form, I received in a day or so the following de- 
lightful bit of verse, which, no doubt, is quite the piece de 
resistance of this humble effort. 



THE ROSE TREE MEETING, 1920 

O WOULD some power the gift bestow, 
To see ourselves in racing season. 
As to the meet we briskly go, 
Though one might often ask the reason; 
For I will prove that we must pay 
Time well for parting with its treasure — 
The twenty minutes of the day 
In which nags gallop for our pleasure. 
In truth, a madness must descend 
Upon those persons who can find 
Such store of gladness without end, 
Such strange and awful peace of mind 
In mud and cold and drifting wet — 
In shivering by the paddock fence, 
Or fighting through to place a bet 
Lunchless and drinkless; hasten hence 
And join this mad and happy few 
In their pursuit of ecstasy — 
I'll name them as they come for you, 
If you will but lend your courtesy. 

There's "Stanley" with his lacquered legs, 
His greyhounds and his pearly hats, 



174 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

His tweeds the shade of scrambled eggs; 
There's "Chris" with muttons swathed in spats ■ 
These two come earliest; they burn 
Tapers before Sir Reynard's shrine, 
Surtees their bible is; they yearn 
Whene'er they hear hound puppies whine. 

"Pray what's the noise?" "Oh, that is Penn — 
His voice defies the strongest breeze, 
You'll hear again and yet again, 
His gruff 'Now, gentlemen, — if you please! 
We 're waiting for you . . . get that horse! . . . 
Can't wait all day — You should have weighed! 
Get up . . . and come down to the course — 
I '11 show you how this game is played.' " 

"Who comes with derby neatly poised 

Upon an ear?" — "Oh, goodness, gracious! 

Those 'hands' have many a 'mouth' rejoiced, 

That's 'telo babying 'Rapacious' — 

*Devy,' our very own; you know 

We're just a wee bit choked with pride 

About you, 'Devy' — he can show 

A horse's best in any ride; 

Sport's safe with him. There are a lot 

Of chaps who ride as straight and hard, 

Equally horsemen, like as not. 

Yet Devy somehow takes the card." 

Here comes the clan from out the West. 
They know the things worth living for; 
** Walter" and "Sara," simply dressed, 
Nephew and niece of "Man-o'-War"; 
Followed by dear old Sam and his 
Whole-hearted, kindly, jolly wife — 
The only staunch unfailing "Liz" 
Who could have shared his merry life. 

And now they come so fast, I hate 

To say what my acute remorse is — 

Henceforth you'll differentiate 

'Twixt names of men and names of horses 

With difficulty. Ne'ertheless 

I '11 try to drop a hint of sorts 



A FOXHUNllNG JOURNAL 175 

Which will enable you to guess 
What's meant in this the king of sports. 

There goes "Bill Whaley" — pardon me — 

If for your further information 

I add here somewhat hastily, 

And with a sense of perturbation, 

Bill's not that chap whose legs are welding 

Themselves into the saddle flaps — • 

He's Billy Clothier's raty gelding — 

At point-to-points the best of chaps. 

There's Mr. Hare: I do not mean 

To be facetious, no, nor coy. 

Picturing rabbits on the green 

To amuse the verdant city boy — 

I most respectfully refer 

To him whom sportsmen designate 

Master of Masters — briefly. Sir, 

A sort of hunting potentate. 

Whose followers go clad in pink 

And rally to the merry horn; 

Who hold no sound more sweet, I think, 

Than "Lancer" baying in the corn. 

Ho, 't was a sight to see him go 

With such a level well-matched pack — 

There was not one he did not know; 

He'd smile down from his gelding's back 

And hounds smiled back at him with eyes 

All frank and fond, their sterns afeather, 

Scenting the lovely enterprise 

They soon would set afoot together. 

Health to our Horace, "Mr. Hare!'* 
Two masters ably followed after — 
You'll see them standing over there 
Under that bit of weathered rafter: 
This is the stable. Big Ben Chew 
' Is talking with the present Master 
On whether " Riverbreeze" will do. 
Or "Wolferton" is really faster. 

And now our "Clarence" joins the group 
To tip them to the latest hint 



176 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

That "Lakewood 's" due to cook their soup 

According to his owner "Bint." 

"Bint 's" always due to win, you know, 

"If only the old horse stays i«" — 

The cunning nag can really go, 

And yet somehow the others win, 

And friends walk o'er the darkened course 

In search of "Bint" who's apt to be 

Bloodied a bit, but with his horse 

Beneath some spreading chestnut tree. 

Speaking of "Clarence" — there 's a chap! 
He never starts, I think, without 
Well-wishes and the friendly clap 
Of hands he knows; and there 's a shout 
Of sheer delight when "Ruskin" wins. 
The pair of them go well and straight. 
There by the stall against the bins. 
Where "Riverbreeze" receives in state, 
Stands Welsh his owner, trainer, jock. 
It warms the heart to think of them — 
I've seen them take full many a knock, 
In many a racing day's surprise. 
They'll wear the sportsman's diadem, 
If racing 's known in Paradise. 

See how they swarm! Let's get along 
And hang upon the rail. 'T is merry 
Watching the busy, bustling throng. 
Lord! What a tribe! There's Bill and Gerry 
Beside old "Wolferton." You'll see 
Owners and entries: sires and dams; 
That wee thing there is Frances D; 
There's Amory with her Sealyhams; 
The former is as blythe a lass 
A.S ever wore an Easter bonnet; 
The latter loves a horse: but pass — 
That flag-pole with the bunting on it 
Shows where they'll run. Lord, what a day! 
Look how they step — the colts, I mean — 
Ah, there, they're off, and well away — 
How bright the jackets 'gainst the green! 
Come on, you bay horse! What a crack! 
Oh, Welsh is over! "Riverbreeze!^^ 
Safe as a church! He's caught the black — 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 177 

Lord, what a pace! He'll break his knees — 
Ouch! There, I knew it! "Lakewood 's" come 
A beastly cropper; clear the course! 
Gad, how I love that rhythmic drum 
Of hoofs — Ah! — Watch him! There 's a horse! 
Lord, what a jump! Come on! Oh, ride — 
Ride, you two beggars! Head to head, 
Boot-leg to boot-leg, stride for stride — 

O Lord, make me a thoroughbred! 



THE FOXHALL FARM CUP 

Saturday, October 2,0th, 1920 
Ever since Sam Riddle decided not to race "Man-o'-War" 
any more, the one topic of conversation among the sport- 
ing fraternity has been Foxie Keene's great race in Harford 
County for teams of three horses representing the various 
Hunts. 

It was a great race and a most delightful sporting tour 
that a good many of us made from here by motor on the 
Friday before; and the hospitality of the Harford Hunt, 
where most of us (forty-nine, to be exact) were put up by 
Colonel and Mrs. Valentine, was unsurpassed. 

How they did it, I don't see, but everybody had a bed 
and everybody was happy; even though some were cold, 
none were frozen. There was also that good old combina- 
tion of Wine, Woman, and Song, but I should say song 
predominated, although there was wine and woman in 
plenty; but I 'm a bit off my track, as I started to tell about 
the race, and not tales out of school. 

However, after walking the course on Saturday morning 
and admiring the beauties of it and the surrounding coun- 
try, and after a very big luncheon at the Club, we motored 
back to Foxhall Farm for the great event. 

The parade to the post was most impressive; never was 



178 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

there a prettier sight, or never were there twenty- four 
better turned-out men, or, I believe, twenty-four better 
hunters in a race. Mr. Jim Maddox, the starter, sent them 
off on their journey in great style; but it was a short jour- 
ney for some of them, for five went down at the first fence, 
not one of whom was able to get up and go on again. An- 
telo Devereux, on "Semper Fortis," and Brose Clark, on 
"Warwick," were pretty badly hurt at this jump, while 
their companions in misery were Mr. Ridgeway, on 
"Dooley," Andy Porter, on "Orlando," and one of Fox- 
hall Keene's entries. The heaviest casualties, fortunately, 
were over; but it seemed that nearly every fence took its 
toll, especially of those who were setting much of a pace, 
for the fences were stiff and new, and four miles and a half, 
carrying one hundred and seventy-five pounds, is no idle 
dream to negotiate; but six horses finished without a fall. 
Ralph B. Strassburger's " Wolferton II," one of the White 
Marsh team, and wonderfully ridden by Willie Flem- 
ing, finished first; but our Radnor team, composed of 
George Brooke III, on Nelson Buckley's " Duster," Walter 
Stokes, riding Miss Gertrude Heckscher's "Sam Ball," 
and "Roddy" Wanamaker, on John Converse's "Win- 
gate," was the only one to have all three finish, thereby 
winning the ^5000 Foxhall Vase, and, I must confess, 
much to the astonishment of every one from Radnor. 
Their good judgment and horsemanship and quietness did 
the trick. They did as they were told, and did it well, and 
too much credit cannot be given them. 

The White Marsh team was quite the favorite and 
looked a winner when "Wolferton" came in first, with 
Clarence Kline on "Ruskin," a good third; but "Bint" 
Toland came to grief on the top of the hill the last time 
around and could not finish. The other teams, represent- 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 179 

ing Harford, Rockaway, Elkridge, Meadow Brook, Picker- 
ing, and Cheshire, had only one or two horses up at the 
finish. Thirteen horses finished, all told, seven of whom 
had been down, and one of those three times. 

The injuries to Devereux and Clarke put sort of a crimp 
in the tea-party after the race; but by dinner-time Dr. 
Jim Hutchinson reported his patients out of danger, so 
every one felt in better spirits and more able to enjoy the 
hospitality of Foxhall Farm. 

Among 6he others from home at the race were: Mr. 
Bodine, M.F.H., Radnor, very busy receiving congratu- 
lations; Mr. Beale; the Misses Cassatt; John and Mrs. 
Converse, but John had a tummy ache and did n't enjoy 
himself much; Frank Lloyd, who enjoyed himself im- 
mensely; W. Plunket Stewart; Ned Ilsley; Buck, Bill, and 
Mrs. Clothier; Eddie Cheston; Hunter Lucas; Gerry and 
Mrs. Leiper; Mrs. Henry; Miss Gertrude Heckscher; Mr. 
and Mrs. Edward Brooke; and Mrs. Devereux. 



OPENING DAY 

Saturday, 6th November, 1920 
Never mind how many days' cubbing one has had in the 
early season, there is always that mysterious something 
that makes the opening fixture of the regular hunting sea- 
son a day of thrills and great expectations; and it is 
particularly unfortunate and discouraging for the hard- 
worked M.F.H. should his hounds draw blank, as they did 
to-day. There was not a whimper all day long. Yes, there 
was, too, one hound did speak in Brooks's Wood, quite 
early in the day. He spoke, but that was all; and the field 
of over eighty had a long ride around the countryside, 
discussing several choice bits of gossip and "cussing" 



i8o RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

several other things which don't look well on paper. 

Whoever and whatever may have been discussed or 
"cussed," Mr. and Mrs. Charlton Yarnall saved the other- 
wise stupid day by having a most delightful breakfast at 
their charming Crum Creek Farm on our return from our 
foxless quest. Never, no, never, has a Radnor field eaten 
more delicious food, and, despite the Volstead Act, no one 
went home thirsty; so all 's well that ends well. 

Among the eighty out were: S. Laurence Bodine, 
M.F.H.; the President, Mr. Beale; Ben Chew on his fav- 
orite "Oviat," John Converse on " Wingate," one of Rad- 
nor's team that won the Foxhall Farm Cup a week ago; 
Bob and Mrs. Strawbridge; Miss Barclay on "Sandy"; 
Miss Cassatt on "Seven- to-One"; Radcliffe Cheston; Al- 
fred Biddle; Miss Brown, of Baltimore, riding a colt of 
Frank Lloyd's; R. Nelson Buckley; Bill Rolin; John Sulli- 
van; Mr. Yarnall; Alec and Mrs. Yarnall; Miss Eugenia 
Cassatt on "Lord Salisbury"; Mr. Kelso; Mr. and Mrs. 
William C. Lowe, of New York; Robert Brooke, of Birds- 
boro, on "Water Wagon"; Clarence M. Kline on "Rus- 
kin"; Ben Holland; Mrs. Victor C. Mather; Randy Snow- 
den; Willie and Mrs. du Pont; Hector McNeal and Miss 
McNeal; Dave and Mrs. Sharp; and Bunny on a very nice 
chestnut pony; Walter and Mrs. Roach; W. Hinckle 
Smith on a beautiful chestnut colt of his own raising; 
Henry L. Collins; Miss Gertrude Conway on "Marie"; 
and Harry Barclay on a brown mare. 

BROMALL 

Thursday, nth November, 1920 
It had been years and years since Radnor hounds had 
drawn Snakehouse Wood, and this afternoon, after work- 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL i8i 

ing down-country from Bromall, hounds opened with a 
tremendous roar in the lower side of Snakehouse, raced 
through the wood, crossed the Line Road and met the 
Rose Tree pack head on; then the two packs joined forces, 
and, after recrossing the road into the wood, finally gave 
it up on the upper side in a wheat-field. Personally, I 
think our hounds were running heel on Rose Tree's 
hunted fox, and, when the two packs met, Radnor hounds 
realized their mistake and came back with the Rose Tree. 
They had out thirty couples, while we had seventeen, so 
tlie music of the combination was well worth hearing. 

From here, after many "how-de-do's," etc., hounds 
were taken to the lower Broadlawn Farm, where they im- 
mediately found, and, making a big left-handed circle, the 
field had a nice view of their fox crossing some wheat; 
then, sinking the valley right-handed, another fox evi- 
dently went away, the pack dividing with most of the 
field following the lot that went up-country. Two men 
shooting rabbits viewed our fox crossing the creek at the 
covered bridge in Trimble's Hollow, and hounds, being at 
fault a moment, quickly cast themselves, and swimming 
the creek, gave a good gallop along the stream to the Dun- 
woody Home, then left-handed over the creek again, when 
Mrs. Charlie Munn came to grief, followed a moment 
later by Charlie, on "Peter Grey," who turned upside 
down in the rocky meadow. 

In the next field we viewed our fox fairly flying down 
the hillside, and, crossing the meadow, went to earth 
on the edge of Castle Rock. Reynard must have met a 
friend in his house, or else he was waving a farewell salute 
to us, for he left his brush sticking up out of the earth, 
waving it from side to side, and only pulled it in when 
hounds were practically at the earth. 



1 82 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

From here we galloped back to find the rest of the 
hounds, and another man out shooting put us straight 
again. Hounds owned the line at once, caught up to the 
second division; and, after a couple of circles around the 
hills, marked their second fox to ground on the hillside, 
just above the creek, and across from Trimble's Rocks. 

Besides the Master of Radnor and the Master of Rose 
Tree, there were: Mrs. Jeffords, of Glen Riddle; Roy Jack- 
son; Emanuel Hey; Ben Chew; Miss Gertrude Heckscher 
on "Sam Ball"; Isaac H. Clothier, and his daughter on a 
pony; Miss Eugenia Cassatt; Mrs. William Foster Reeve; 
Miss Barclay; John Converse; and Cliff Cheston. 



TWO DAYS WITH THE CHESHIRE AND ONE WITH 
THE BRAND YWINE 

15th, i8th and igth November, 1920 
To be a delightful host is an art in itself; but to be the 
Master of a great pack of hounds as well, and to entertain 
a large house-party of foxhunters for four consecutive 
weeks, showing sport every day, is an achievement very 
few Americans can boast of; so it was with the greatest 
pleasure that I accepted the Master of Cheshire's kind 
invitation to pass the week with him at Brooklawn. 

Unfortunately, I was only able to be there three days, 
Monday, Thursday, and Friday, and, on arriving Sunday 
afternoon, found my horses most comfortably quartered 
at the Unionville Inn, and, proceeding on to Brooklawn, 
passed a delightful evening. 

On Monday morning hounds met at Chesterland gate at 
nine o'clock, Frank Dare bringing out a mixed pack of 
twenty- three couples of as nice-looking hounds as ever ran 
a fox. 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 183 

The covert below Chesterland was blank, as was the 
quarry across the road; but, just as hounds were entering 
the wood directly back of the kennel, John Converse said, 
" I guess I '11 go to the corner of the wood and view this 
fox away." The words were hardly spoken than a splendid 
big fox broke covert and went sailing across the valley. 
Hounds owned the line at once, and, settling, took us over 
a beautiful line of country at good pace for about eight 
minutes, when scent became very catchy, and hounds were 
put to their noses for the rest of the morning, finally ending 
up in the Laurels, where it is next_to impossible to get a 
fox straightened out. 

Scent improved wonderfully after lunch, and, getting 
our second horses at Brooklawn at two-thirty, found at 
once in Matson's Wood, hounds giving us a really splendid 
twenty minutes, pushing their fox to earth, in a briar patch 
on a hillside. 

On Thursday, the 19th, we hunted with the Brandy- 
wine, meeting at the Lenape School House at nine-thirty, 
Thompson bringing out a beautiful pack of twenty-one 
and a half couples, with the Misses Mather in command. 

The first draw was Huey's Wood, where hounds spoke 
at once, and, viewing our fox away, ran south crossing the 
Unionville Road through Denton's Hollow and on to Tay- 
lor's Thicket, where scent became very catchy, hounds 
owning it here and there, but working it splendidly, carried 
it on for some time, finally giving it up. Just then Jack 
Potter viewed another fox on Huey's Farm, and Thomp- 
son, galloping his hounds to the view, put them on, but 
this turned out to be a circling chap, and, after making 
three rings around the wood, hounds were whipped off and 
we started up-country. But we were no sooner on our way 
than hounds spoke to a line in the Marlborough Bottoms, 



1 84 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

and, scent seeming to Improve wonderfully, for the next 
hour and twenty minutes we had as nice a run and over as 
lovely a country as it has ever been my privilege to enjoy. 

I wish I was more familiar with this splendid section of 
Chester County so that I might give in more detail some 
of the charm of this delightful run; but I am not. At any 
rate, hounds raced away after their fox through that su- 
perb Northbrook country to Wawasset, Locust Grove, and 
Corinne, and finally to the big Marlborough Woods again, 
where scent became catchy, and, hounds and horses having 
had enough, we went in. 

We jogged back to Unionville, had a nip of excellent 
port in the old wagon-shed, then motored to Brandywine 
Meadow Farms for a late but delicious luncheon with the 
Misses Mather. 

The others in the party were : the Master of the Cheshire ; 
the Master of Radnor; Bob and Mrs. Strawbridge; Antelo 
and Mrs. Devereux; Mrs. Henry; John and Mrs. Converse; 
Mr. Kerr; and Govey Cadwalader. 

Friday morning the Cheshire met at Brooklawn; foxes 
were plentiful and were viewed from every covert, but 
there was not a vestige of scent; but in the afternoon, af- 
ter some of us had come in, conditions changed and those 
who had stayed out were rewarded by forty minutes of the 
very best. 

Wednesday, 24th November, 1920 
Whether it was n't generally known that hounds were 
going out to-day, or not, I don't know; but, be that as it 
may, only Frank Lloyd, on his bay mare, "War Baby," 
and I turned up at the kennels for the meet this morning 
at eleven o'clock, so we had things all to ourselves; and, af- 
ter drawing the Hospital Farm blank, hounds went away 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 185 

with a tremendous roar from the little lake on Mr. Earle's 
driveway, and, pushing up over the hill, circled back left- 
handed to the Goshen Road, where they were at fault. 

In galloping out Mr. Earle's drive, I met our fox coming 
down the road at the driveway entrance. We both stopped, 
looked at each other a moment, but neither of us spoke, 
and Mr. Fox then popped into the shrubbery on the side of 
the road. 

Will Leverton brought hounds immediately to my hol- 
loa, and, owning it at once, we had a delightful hunting run 
on over "the hill to Yarnall's Hollow, crossed the Wyola 
Road into Mr. John Brown's, then up the road to the cor- 
ner, into Happy Creek, on up the big meadows, and left- 
handed to the Railroad Farm, where, turning, hounds 
fairly flew back down-country and marked their fox to 
ground in Yarnall's Hollow, after a most enjoyable hour 
and twenty minutes. 

Thanksgiving Day, 1920 
Practically the whole countryside turned out to-day, de- 
spite the raw wind, for the annual events at Radnor; and, 
aside from the racing, the great event of the day was 
thejumping match between Sam Riddle's "Bally Heather" 
and Isaac Clothier's "King Daly" for ^500 a side. It was 
really most impressive, and there was absolute silence when 
Isaac Clothier started around the course. Barring a re- 
fusal crossing the lane, he made a beautiful performance, 
but when Cull, riding " Bally Heather," started out, it was 
quite noticeable at once that their performance was going 
to be well worth seeing and remembering. Never have I 
seen so finished an exhibition; and when Cull pulled up at 
the end of his journey, there was no doubt in any one's 
mind what the result would be. Roy Jackson, the Judge, 



1 86 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

immediately gave the award to "Bally Heather," amid 
much cheering and applause. It was most impressive. 

Previous to this, there was the pony jumping for the 
younger generation, which was won by little Miss Cath- 
arine Clothier's "Cocoa," with Miss Doris Stewart's 
" Circus Girl " a very good second. 

The big jumping class was won by Walter Stokes, rid- 
ing W. Hinckle Smith's "Loyal," one of his own breeding, 
and by Dave Sharp's "Master of Craft." 

The sixth running for Lieutenant-Colonel J. Franklin 
McFadden's Radnor Valley Farm Challenge Cup brought 
five horses to the post, "Wolferton II," "Lakewood," 
"Brosseau," "Bill Whaley," and "Riverbreeze." 

Harry Barclay started them nicely on their journey, and 
all went along merrily until the third jump, when "Bros- 
seau" decided he had had enough and stopped. Tommy 
Wright, on "Wolferton," was leading the field the last time 
around, but missed the eighteenth fence, carrying "Bill 
Whaley" with him, and, before they could pull up and 
get between the flags, "Bint" Toland, on "Lakewood," 
and Welsh Strawbridge, riding "Riverbreeze," had gained 
such a lead that they couldn't be caught, "Lakewood" 
winning from "Riverbreeze" by a couple of lengths. 

The last race of the day, for the Master's Cup, was 
quite the best from a racing point of view. Seven horses 
started, Joe Ewing's "Red Wing," "Bint" Toland's 
"Stand Point," Hinckle Smith's "Royal," Huntingdon 
Valley Farm's "Indian Desert" and "Whirlwind," Clar- 
ence Kline's "Ruskin," and Nelson Buckley's "Duster." 
Joe Ewing and "Red Wing" parted company at the third 
fence; but it was a very pretty race to watch; the field were 
together all the time; Clarence Kline, on "Ruskin," win- 
ning by a half-length. 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 187 

Following the racing, Colonel and Mrs. McFadden gave 
a most delightful luncheon at their Radnor Valley Farm, 
and at three o'clock the hounds met at the kennels. But 
the weather-man went back on us by this time; neverthe- 
less, about twenty of the braver ones ventured out in the 
rain, and the Yarnall's Hollow fox had enough sporting 
blood to defy the weather-man, giving hounds a good fast 
run up-country to the Railroad Farm. 

Some of the questions asked during the day were: 

If a certain M.F.H. has named the vixen that his 
hounds find in Brooks's Wood, "Lucy Glitters," what is 
the name of the dog fox in Innes's Wood.^ 

If one of Stanley Reeve's greyhounds can run faster than 
one of Plunket Stewart's foxhounds, how fast a dog is 
"Wolferton".? Ask Devy. 

Whose aesthetic sense of color selected vivid purple 
badges for the Patrol Judges to wear on their scarlet coats 
during the races? 

Why do they call a certain very fascinating, foxhunting 
lady "Lucy Glitters"? 

Saturday, ^yth November, 1920 
As one sits before the fire and thinks over the pictures that 
come before one's mind of the day's happenings in the 
hunting-field, it's strange how deep an impression on one's 
mind is made by a fitting setting for a hunting-scene. 

The meet at Kelso this morning made a particularly 
pleasing picture, especially if one was out by the iron fence 
and sort of looking down on the scene. The "Chateau," as 
Miss Gertrude deCoppet used to call it, was looking its 
best as the background for the Radnor M.F.H. and his 
well-turned-out staff and field of over seventy, about a 
dozen of whom were in scarlet. A scarlet coat may not 



1 88 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

make a foxhunter; but say what you may, it does add a bit 
of picturesqueness to the scene. 

The fox in the Waynesboro Swamp was not at home, but 
the old faithful Malvern Barrens produced a stout one that 
most of us viewed away when hounds were on the upper 
side of covert. They came out on his line with a beautiful 
cry, and, taking us over a fairish flight of bars in a lane out 
to the Sugartown Road, we had a gallop over the road 
through Sugartown and down to the burned Klemm Farm, 
where hounds made quite an out. Here Charles was viewed 
again, hounds carrying a good scent into the upper side of 
Fairy Hill, then, swinging sharply right-handed, worked 
it out slowly over some wheat to the road, where scent 
improved and we moved along at a good pace to the 
wood back of Miss Hook's, then right-handed again, 
and north to the George Saportas Farm, to Mr. Cox's, 
where some new wire gave hounds a bit of trouble, and 
slowly from there on back to the Barrens, where three 
wild geese flew over our heads, just as hounds gave it 
up, after an hour and twenty-two minutes of very nice 
work. 

Every one was delighted to see the "Duke" and Mrs. 
Saportas out with us again, as it was Betty's first appear- 
ance at Radnor in several years; and Uncle Joe was going 
strong as of old. 

Among the others were: John and Mrs. Converse; Ben, 
David, and Oswald Chew; Miss Cassatt; Miss Alex. Dolan; 
Buck; Frank Lloyd; Gardner Cassatt; Arthur Meigs; 
Harry Barclay; Mr. Kelso; Ben Holland; Bill Evans and 
son; Randy Snowden; Henry and Mrs. Collins, Dave and 
Mrs. Sharp and Bunny; Charlie Harrison; Alfred Biddle; 
and Walter and Stanley Stokes. 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 189 

Saturday, iSth December, 1920 

If there 's one place in the world where the head must be an 
optimist, it's the job of being an M.F.H.; and to feel any- 
where near the top or able to smile when some one says 
good-morning to you, after having had a whole string of 
blank days in a row — well, it takes a foxhunter to do it, 
that's all. 

It was another of those cold, windy, blue-nosed sort 
of mornings, when hounds met at Sugartown at eleven 
o'clock, and about seventy of the faithful braved the ele- 
ments, but inwardly feeling it was n't much use trying to 
find a fox, it was so windy and cold; and I must confess 
that after three hours of it, had it not been for a very 
fascinating, dark-eyed beauty, mounted on a once cele- 
brated race-horse, that my own feeble enthusiasm might 
have fizzed out before the real business of the day began. 
But being hungry, as was the before-mentioned fascinating, 
dark-eyed one, and both of us having well-filled sandwich 
cases, we decided to eat our lunch together on the sunny 
side of a friendly barn; and, keeping hounds more or less in 
sight, had just finished our sandwiches, and somewhat 
sheepishly rejoined the field, when hounds went away at 
top-speed from the wood back of Miss Hook's, and, cross- 
ing the Goshen Road, turned sharply left-handed just be- 
fore reaching Button's Mill, raced over the hill into Del- 
chester, where they checked a moment and gave some of us 
a chance to catch up; then a wide cast by Will Leverton on 
top of the Delchester Hill put them right again, and, cross- 
ing the West Chester Pike, hounds swam Ridley Creek and 
checked a moment by the covered bridge, but, picking it up 
in the road, fairly flew on to Pickering's Thicket, on through 
it to Hunting Hill and down-country to the meadow below 
the old Rawle Farm, when Reynard evidently did n't like 



I90 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

the idea of another bath, as hounds swung sharply left 
again, right at the water's edge, and, running up-stream, 
took us at a good cHp back over practically the same 
ground to Delchester, where scent apparently failed com- 
pletely; but the sixteen who had braved the cold and 
had the run were very content to call it a day and start a 
long nine-mile hack back to kennels. 

Among those out, besides the Master, were: John and 
Mrs. Converse and Randy Snowden; Miss Gertrude Heck- 
scher; Bob Strawbridge; Harry and Miss Barclay; Miss 
Eugenia Cassatt; Nelson Buckley; Tommy Wanamaker; 
Mrs. Saportas on "Uncle Joe"; Ben Holland; Max Living- 
ston, Jr.; Mr. Beale; Henry Collins; Dave and Mrs. Sharp; 
and Mrs. Bill Rolin, riding the same horse that caused so 
much excitement the other day at the joint meet with 
Pickering. It seems her horse went down with her twice 
that day, and after the second crash refused to move. 
Finally, after much consultation among the amateur vets, 
and after every known and unknown method of persuasion 
had been used to get it on its feet again, with no result, ex- 
cepting terrible groans from the poor gee, it was decided 
that its back was broken. The ladies were gently told to 
ride on, and a servant was despatched in great haste to a 
neighboring farmhouse to procure a gun to put the faith- 
ful beast out of its horrible misery. 

The question then arose as to who was to actually do the 
shooting. No one seemed to volunteer; brave men who had 
but recently slain multitudes of Boches blanched at the 
very thought; fair women wept and, weeping, rode away; 
then some kind soul, to make the pangs of death less severe, 
took off its saddle and bridle, whereupon, it immediately 
jumped up, and, showing a clean pair of heels, raced away, 
sans bridle, sans saddle, across country in the wake of the 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 191 

fast-disappearing pack. The weeping women wept no 
more; the brave men thanked their lucky stars that, as 
yet, no Dry Agents have pursued their calHng in the hunt- 
ing-field. 

Tuesday, 28th December, 1920 
If Dave Sharp had been hunting hounds to-day, and if 
Harry Harrison was his whipper-in once more, as they 
were in the good old days of John Valentine's regime at 
Radnor, I'm quite sure history would have repeated itself 
and another chapter been added to the annals of foxhunt- 
ing in Pennsylvania, for it was cold enough and windy 
enough to congeal that unmentionable part of the anatomy 
of the proverbial brass monkey. 

As the brass monkey is now passe and Dave Sharp quite 
the contrary, I'll try to tell the story before we go further 
with the doings of to-day. 

John Valentine did n't take his field into covert with his 
huntsman and hounds, as some Masters we have seen 
do, but kept his field in a convenient place where, should 
hounds go away, they could get to them by the time hounds 
were nicely settled on the line of their fox. Well, on this par- 
ticularly cold and windy day, John had his impatient and 
shivering field on a hilltop overlooking a certain covert 
not far from Malvern, while his huntsman, David, and his 
hounds drew the wood. No fox was viewed out the upper 
corner; not a hound spoke; not a sound was heard; and 
John was having a bit of trouble keeping some of his more 
thrusting followers in hand. Fifteen minutes, half an hour, 
and even John was getting cold and fidgety by now; so he 
sent Harry Barclay into covert to see if hounds had by any 
chance slipped out the other side unseen. But, after wait- 
ing another fifteen minutes with no signs even of Harry 



192 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

Barclay, John, very solemnly and with much dignity, 
slowly led his shivering field into the wood. The old ride 
through the covert was pretty well grown up, but, after 
pushing their way along for a couple of hundred yards, 
they came to the edge of an old quarry, and, on looking 
down into the quarry hole, discovered Dave and the two 
Harry's sitting on a log, peacefully smoking before a roar- 
ing fire, surrounded by the hounds and with their horses 
eating grass near by. 

Modesty forbids me to tell you what John said; but the 
air was no longer cold and the freezing field froze no more. 

The Master of Hawthorne was not hunting hounds to- 
day, but we all nearly froze just the same, until, on reach- 
ing the upper side of Yarnall's Hollow, when hounds 
opened up on the line of a stout fox in the good old- 
fashioned way. 

After sinking the valley and skirting the lake, hounds 
raced over the hill to Mr. Earle's lawn, and, on reaching the 
hilltop at the Howard House, swung left-handed over the 
Darby Creek, and, crossing the Creek Road into Gough- 
acres, went on into the Radnor Valley Farm, giving the 
field a lovely gallop halfway around the steeplechase 
course to the I than Creek, over it to the road, where Miss 
Ellen Mary Cassatt made a most spectacular jump, on her 
** Seven-to-One," over the high, whitewashed, plank fence. 
Hounds checked a moment at Mr. McFadden's corner, 
then doubled back, and, recrossing the Radnor Valley 
Farm, ran with a breast-high scent through Ardrosson to 
the Creek Road again, where our first whip, Frank Smith, 
came a very nasty cropper in jumping into the road. Ben 
Chew and I stopped with Frank a fewminutes, while hounds 
raced on to Yarnall's Hollow once more. We caught them 
on top of the hill, when Reynard turned up- wind, and, being 




Silhouette bii the Author 



" O AT-TTHXTITO " 



MISS GERTRUDE S. HECKSCHER ON SATURNUS 
December, 1920 




Silhouette by the Author 

MISS ELLEN MARY CASSATT ON " SEVEN-TO-ONE 
1920 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 193 

viewed again, took us on over Mr. John Brown's to the Old 
Mill, on through the Happy Creek Meadows to the Patter- 
son place, where a brace of terriers mixed things up a bit; 
but, casting themselves, the pack picked up the line across 
the road and ran with a wonderful cry to the old wheel- 
wright shop, where the Darby Creek crosses the Waterloo 
Road, where they checked on the hillside and could not 
own the line again. 

It was an hour and a quarter of quite remarkable hound 
work, fast enough to please the most fastidious, and under 
conditions that more than one of the old stagers said was 
actually marvellous. One most popular ex-Master of Rad- 
nor said to me, as we were galloping side by side over the 
Happy Creek pastures, "This is the greatest pack of 
hounds in America to-day"; and I agree with him from 
start to finish. Give the Radnor hounds half a chance and 
they will show you sport that you cannot duplicate in 
any other country in America. And speaking of countries 
— where is there one in which there is less wire than at 
Radnor? As Mr. B. would say — "There ain't none!" 

Thursday, ^oth December, 1920 
Several days ago Samuel D. Riddle kindly invited all 
those who lunch at the Foxhunters' Table at the Racquet 
Club, to go out with the Rose Tree hounds this afternoon 
and stay for supper afterward at the Rose Tree Club. 
Every one accepted; but those who did n't come really 
missed one of the best occasions of the kind since prohi- 
bition went into effect. 

When I arrived at the charming old Club House, Wal- 
ter M. Jeffords, M.F.H., was just putting out the black- 
board showing which coverts were to be drawn, so that 
late arrivals might pick hounds up; and promptly at one- 



194 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

thirty he moved off, taking out a mixed pack of thirty- 
seven and one-half couples, including some of "Mr. Rid- 
dle's hounds," which were given to the Rose Tree a couple 
of seasons ago, and among whom were old "Jerry," a won- 
derful type of black-and-tan hound, but who is beginning 
to show his age, being now very grey around the muzzle; 
then there was "Stump," a dock-tailed, black hound that 
came from Virginia, with a great reputation which he still 
maintains. 

A fox was viewed away from the lower side of the Lee- 
dom's Mill Wood, and Abner Garrett, huntsman, galloped 
his pack to the view, when they went away with a volume 
of music that I have seldom heard equalled, and kept up 
continuously for an hour and forty-five minutes. Scent 
was just holding enough to keep hounds on their noses all 
the time and make galloping alongside of them quite pos- 
sible. Crossing the Eagle Road, north of the Lamb Tavern, 
they sank the valley into the farm Bill Clothier once 
had, and, crossing the Darby Creek, ran practically to the 
Sixty-Ninth Street trolley station, where, turning back, 
they came with the same beautiful cry through the Bon 
Air Farms to the creek again, over it, to Moore's Wood, 
and to the Lawrence Mills, where hounds swung sharply 
left-handed at the Lawrence Road, and, taking us to 
George Mullins's, turned left again through his wood back 
to where we found, and on around a slightly smaller circle, 
hounds finally marking their fox to earth in his home covert. 

The pleasures of the day being over, we hacked back to 
the kennels and proceeded to enjoy those of the evening, 
which started immediately on our arrival and continued 
through a most delicious dinner and well into the night, 
being accompanied by an unusual amount of singing by 
our host; one song in particular, although of only one verse. 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 195 

and not especially classical, made the hit of the evening. 
It ran something like this: 

"Around her neck she wore a yellow ribbon, 
She wore it in the summer-time and in the month of May, 
And if you asked her, why the hell she wore it, 
She wore it for her True Love, who was far, far away.'* 

Had Mr. Surtees ever had a day with the Rose Tree, he 
would certainly have added one more to his already won- 
derful list of hunting characters. " Soapy Sponge " or " Fa- 
cey Rumford " never, in their most intoxicated moments, 
excelled the actions of a certain highly illuminated Rose 
Tree retainer that haunted the dining-room all evening. 

Among those hunting and at the supper were: Sam and 
Mrs. Riddle; Walter and Mrs. Jeffords; Dr. and Mrs. Gib- 
bon; Miss Gertrude Conway; Miss Welsh; Walter and Mrs. 
Roach; Dr. James P. Hutchinson; Roy and Miss Jackson; 
Emanuel Hey; Alex, and Mrs. Sellers; Colonel Glendining; 
Mr. and Mrs. Barklie; Ivan Fox; Miss Cohen; Mr. and 
Mrs. Samuel Henderson; Francis V. Lloyd; William M. 
Kerr; Edward Ilsley; and William F. Reeve. 

THE DEATH OF "LUCY GLITTERS" 

Tuesday, ^th January, 192 1 
Sometime ago in this journal the question was asked — 
"If a certain M.F.H. has named the vixen that his hounds 
find in Brooks's Wood, "Lucy Glitters," what is the name 
of the dog fox in Innes's Wood ? ** 

The question has also been asked in the field, and as for 
the answers — well, probably discretion is the better part 
of valor after all; but that there was 3.nafaire de cceur be- 
tween the auburn-haired vixen and her stalwart neighbor 
seems quite evident; at any rate, she was visiting her 



196 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

lover to-day, which is always a more or less exciting and 
dangerous procedure for a lady, even in the heart of the 
country. 

She was discovered, tried to run away, and paid the 
price of her indiscretions with her life, poor dear. 

"The wages of sin is death"; but she was a lady and a 
sportswoman, and perhaps sinned not at all. Let's give 
her the benefit of the doubt and allow her fair name to be 
set down in the annals of foxhunting as unblemished as 
that of the dashing Diana for whom she was christened. 

Flirt though she was, she was viewed away, and, with a 
defiant whisk of her beautiful brush, sailed out the upper 
side of her lover's home covert, with hounds racing after 
her over the plough, then, swinging sharply right-handed, 
crossed the White Horse Road into Mr. Pepper's, fairly 
flying on through the Delmas Property and, keeping Lock- 
wood's Hollow on their left, crossed the Leopard Road into 
Baker's Wood, on through to the lower pasture, where 
scent must have been very holding, for, with a beautiful 
cry, hounds raced on over Baker's Corner, and, sinking the 
valley into Bjornhem, took us through the Calvert Wood 
to the Wyola Road, where Mrs. Saportas came galloping 
up to the Master with the information that she had just 
viewed, but her view proved to be some one's pet pussy; 
hounds pushing on to the Darby Creek, and, crossing the 
Happy Creek Meadows, ran on down through the Old 
Mill into Mrs. John Brown's wood, where poor Lucy was 
seen making desperate efforts to dodge her blood-thirsty 
pursuers who were snapping at her heels. She managed to 
cross the stream and gain the hilltop, but once more in the 
open the odds were all against her, hounds rolling her over 
on the McGonigle Farm, after about thirty minutes of 
very nice work. 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 197 

And the last I saw of poor Miss Glitters was the tip of 
her blonde brush sticking out of Miss Conway's pocket, as 
hounds trotted off in search of more sport, and her mask 
dangling from the dees of the whipper-in's saddle. 

Another fox was put to earth in Mrs. Brown's lower 
drain, and a third and more stout-hearted chap gave us 
another fifty minutes from Yarnall's to Mr. Clarke's, to 
Ardrossan, and back to Yarnall's Hollow, where hounds 
were finally whipped off. 

Saturday, 2gth January, 192 1 
It has been several years since Radnor hounds have found 
a fox that would give us a gallop across that beautiful 
valley lying to the west of Green Briar; and I never cross 
it without thinking of dear old Alec Brown, who, one day 
a long time ago, had a bad start when hounds found a fox 
and raced away on a burning scent without him. Alec and 
the majority of the field were coffee-housing and did n't 
know hounds were running until we had crossed the vale 
and hounds had come to a moment's check on the opposite 
hillside. On looking around to see what had become of the 
others, the only person in sight was Brown, on "Pebbles," 
riding as if the Devil, himself, was after him, and "Peb- 
bles" negotiating the country in his best Maryland Hunt 
Cup form. Several of us sat there on our horses and 
watched him coming, and all agreed that few men would 
have dared to come as straight and as fast as Alec and 
"Pebbles" were doing. I have n't made much of a story 
of it; but, somehow, it made a deep impression on me at 
the time, and the picture is very plain before me. 

However, to-day, a fox was viewed away from the lower 
side of Delchester, and, crossing the creek on the ice, 
hounds ran over the West Chester Pike into Green Briar, 



198 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

where Stuart's pack joined us, and, pushing slowly through 
the big covert to the west side, raced away over that lovely 
valley that Alec Brown crossed so beautifully years ago, 
and checked on the opposite hillside at nearly the same 
spot they did before. On turning around and looking back 
across the vale, I thought of poor Brown; but the picture I 
saw was far, far different from the one in which he had been 
the central and heroic figure. To-day, there was a chap 
pulling the top rail out of a fence in one field; a certain 
lady, who rides astride, was just greeting Mother Earth 
with outstretched arms in another pasture; and a gentle- 
man in scarlet was having troubles of his own with a refus- 
ing horse in another; what other excitement or tragedies 
were occurring, I had not time to see, for some one said, 
"Here comes Rose Tree," and from over the brow of the 
hill came an apparently endless mass of hounds. It was not 
only Rose Tree, but two other farmer packs as well, that 
were harking to the Radnor. The countryside was alive 
with hounds of all descriptions; and, on working through a 
wood along the Street Road, picked up the line with a 
burst of music that is hardly conceivable to any one who 
was not there to hear it. The music from those sixty-five 
and a half couples of American, near-American, and half- 
bred hounds must have been sweet to the spirit of old 
Jesse Russell, who lies buried on Hunting Hill, a couple of 
miles away. 

The pace hounds set from here on was not fast, but just 
fast enough for 'most all to keep abreast of the pack and 
thoroughly enjoy themselves. Keeping the Street Road 
on their right, hounds ran straight on up-country, finally 
marking their fox to earth in fifty-five minutes, on the 
southerly slope of Temple Hill, which lies halfway between 
the Westtown School and Cheyney. 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 199 

After separating the numerous packs, the Rose Tree 
field turned southward, and we came on down the Street 
Road, making Fairy Hill our first draw, after which most 
of us came on home; but hounds found later in Evans's 
meadow and ended the day with another very fast run of 
forty minutes. 

Among those in the first run were: Mr. Bodine, M.F.H., 
Radnor; Mr. Jeffords, M.F.H., Rose Tree; Mrs. Jeffords; 
William M. Kerr on a very nice thoroughbred; John and 
Mrs. Converse; Randy Snowden; Miss Gertrude S. Heck- 
scher, on "Saturnas"; George Brooke III, on Miss Heck- 
scher's "Sam Ball"; Emanuel Hey; Mrs. Bill Rolin; 
Charlie Harrison on a pony, and who came to grief in a 
brook; Ben Holland; Clyde John; Robert Brooke, on 
" Water Wagon "; Henry and Mrs. Collins; Dave and Mrs. 
Sharp; Harry and Miss Barclay; Frank Lloyd; R. Nelson 
Buckley; Gerry and Mrs. Leiper; Bob and Mrs. Straw- 
bridge; and M. Roy Jackson. 

Thursday, 3rd February, 192 1 
When we met at Newtown Square this afternoon at one- 
thirty, and hacked down that slippery, tar road to Snake- 
house Wood, I had sort of a feeling in my bones something 
was going to happen and that we would meet Rose Tree 
again. We did meet them, and from what I've heard 
since, they apparently were none too pleased to see us, al- 
though there was an armistice signed a few years ago! 

Snakehouse produced a fox that took hounds over 
Broadlawn Farm to Trimble's Hollow Bridge, then up the 
creek to the Dunwoody Home, and, keeping the Home on 
their left, raced away over a beautiful line of country to- 
wards Newtown Square with no undue excitements, bar- 
ring good old "Sam Ball" going down with his beautiful 



200 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

pilot at a low three rails. Then, just before reaching the 
Square, hounds swung sharply right-handed, and, crossing 
the road, ran through Vauclain's back to the lower side of 
Snakehouse, to a short check; this first burst having been 
twenty-eight minutes. Will Leverton made quite a wide 
cast; hounds picked up the line, and, carrying it to the hills 
above the creek, we were surprised to see the Rose Tree 
pack coming towards us in full cry; but, about two hun- 
dred yards to our right, or south of us. 

The two packs passed each other, both in full cry, and 
neither pack hesitated an instant, nor did any of their re- 
spective following. Rose Tree hounds swung left-handed 
towards the Providence Road, crossing through the old 
Harrison Farm; while the Radnor bore right-handed to 
the Line Road, where they checked, finally harking to the 
Rose Tree in Evans's Rocks, and from then on over the 
Line Road the combined packs ran with a wonderful 
cry down Crum Creek to Dr. Jim Hutchinson's prop- 
erty, where the Rose Tree hounds, sort of half-heartedly, 
marked a fox to ground; but evidently Will Leverton did n't 
think Reynard had gone under, and, in making another 
wide cast, hounds spoke and carried it on out to the lower 
road, over the hill above the new Springfield reservoir, 
where scent became quite spotty and hounds with great 
difficulty worked along to near the Lamb Tavern, where 
they gave it up. 

Of course the question immediately arose as to whose 
fox it was that the combined packs finally brought down- 
country; but after all is said and done — and even some of 
the Rose Tree people agree with us — there is no doubt but 
that the Radnor's hunted fox was quite a distance ahead of 
hounds. The Rose Tree, in drawing up-country, ran into 
our fox, turned him back, and here it was that the two 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 201 

packs passed in opposite directions; then our hounds car- 
ried on until they came to the spot where Rose Tree nicked 
in on our fox; then, being naturally at fault, they harked 
to the Rose Tree, who were coming towards them by this 
time, and from there on ran together. 

The combined field was pretty big, among them being, 
besides the two masters: Emanuel Hey; John and Mrs. 
Converse; Miss Gertrude S. Heckscher on "Sam Ball"; 
R. Nelson Buckley; Eddie Dale; Frank Bonsai, M.F.H., 
Harford County; Howard Lewis; E. E. Marshall; Bill and 
Mrs. Mulford; Miss Ellen Mary Cassatt, Mr. Kerr, who 
had nine horses in the field, Charles Heiser, of Baltimore; 
Mrs. W. F. Reeve; Walter L. Roach; Alex, and Mrs. Sel- 
lers; Gardner Cassatt; Francis V. Lloyd; M. Roy Jackson; 
Bob and Mrs. Strawbridge; Mrs. Coleman; Gerry and Mrs. 
Leiper; Henry Collins; and Mrs. Jeffords. 

Some of the numerous questions asked in and by the 
field to-day, were — 

Where was foxhunting discovered? 

Answer: Yarnall's Hollow. 

When was foxhunting discovered? 

Answer: 1920 



NIMROD 

NiMROD he was a hunter in the days of long ago, 
Caring little for things of state, little for things of show; 
When the unenlightened around him squabbled for 

wealth or fame 
Nimrod fled to the forests and gave himself up to 

Game. 

I Ve never been told what jungles old Nimrod called his 

own. 
Or studied the "Sportsman's Record" he scratched on a 

shoulder-bone; 
I have n't heard what he shot with nor even what game he 

slew, 
But I know he was fore-forefather to fellows like me and 

you. 

He stood to the roaring tiger, he stood to the charging 
gaur; 

His was the love of the hunting which is more than the 
lust of war; 

He knew the troubles of tracking, the business of camps 
and kits. 

And the pleasure that pays for the pain of all — the ulti- 
mate shot that hits. 

Now I've nowhere seen it stated, but I'm certain the 
thing occurred. 



A FOXHUNTING JOURNAL 203 

That when Nimrod came to his death-bed he sent his rel- 
atives word. 

And said to his sons and his people ere his spirit obtained 
release, 

"You follow the trails I taught you and your ways will 
bring you peace." 

Wherefore — as now and to-morrow — when the souls of 

men were sick, 
When wives were fickle or fretful or the bills were falling 

thick, 
When the youth v/as minded to marry and the maiden 

withheld consent. 
Heeding the words of Nimrod, they packed their spears 

and went — 

Went to the scented mornings, to the nights of the satin 

moon 
That can lap the heart in solace, that can settle the soul in 

tune; 
So they continued the remedy Nimrod of old began — 
The healing hand of the jungle on the fevered brow of 

man. 

Then — as now and to-morrow — mended and sound and 

sane. 
Flushed by the noonday sunshine, freshed by the twilight 

rain, 
Trailing their trophies behind them, armed with the 

strength of ten. 
Back they came from the jungle ready to start again. 



204 RADNOR REMINISCENCES 

Ye who have travelled the wilderness, ye who have fol- 
lowed the chase, 

Whom the voice of the forest comforts and the touch of the 
lonely place; 

Ye who are sib to the jungle and know it and hold it 
good — 

Praise ye the name of Nimrod, a Fellow Who Under- 
stood. 

II. B. (in Punch) 



THE END 



CAMBRIDGE • MASSACHUSETTS 
U . S . A 




LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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